Caelan Doris, the son of a psychotherapist and with a degree in psychology, appears to be the ideal candidate for Ireland’s captaincy, and as he rises to the role he has shown leadership on the sensitive issues of mental health and concussions. Ta.
The 25-year-old back-row forward, described by teammate James Rowe as a “fantastic guy on and off the pitch”, captained Ireland in his first game, beating Italy 36-0 in Sunday’s Six Nations. He said it was special for him.
Although his personality is very different from former captain Johnny Sexton and current incumbent Peter O’Mahony, he is the likely long-term captain to become captain, rather than James Ryan, who has long been seen as his successor.
Indeed, head coach Andy Farrell said the injured 34-year-old O’Mahony was extremely nervous about Doris taking his place against Italy, but the Englishman put it in more colorful terms. Expressed with.
For Lowe, it was like being in the mansion where Doris was born for the role.
“His speech before the game was great, to the point, emotional and direct, like he’d done it before,” Lowe said.
“He took everything in his stride.”
That was all the more believable since Doris had openly said last year that she sometimes felt uncomfortable being in the spotlight for what she called her “dream job.”
“It adds a little bit of pressure and awareness that there’s more attention on me. It’s like, ‘How am I going to deal with this?'” he told website 42.ie.
“I think everyone has struggles, insecurities, worries and insecurities. The more we can talk about them and get them off our chest, the better.”
~ “Anxiety about the future” ~
Born and raised in the picturesque county of Mayo in the west of Ireland, where there were only two boys in her school class, Doris said she had kept her feelings bottled up for years.
His father, Chris, and mother, Rachel, say it gives him an aura of calm, which he admits encouraged him to deal with his own feelings of sadness as a child.
“Personally, I wasn’t very good at it when I was younger,” he told 42.ie.
“My parents are psychotherapists, so they encouraged me a lot, but I wasn’t good at it at all.
“It was kind of a theme, and every time I was asked a question, I just said, ‘I’m fine, I’m fine,’ and nothing more.”
Doris started a clothing store with a friend that made “minimalist clothing,” but as she grew older she became more comfortable accepting and expressing her grossness.
“It’s only in the last few years that I’ve gotten better at talking about this kind of thing,” said Doris, who has weekly therapy sessions.
“Luckily, my parents are very good at dealing with things like that.
“It’s comforting, but it can still be uncomfortable to talk about things like that.”
Doris, who shares a home with Leinster and Ireland team-mates Ronan Kelleher and Hugo Keenan, has not shied away from the thorny issue of concussions.
His first taste of Test rugby, against Scotland in the 2020 Six Nations, lasted just four minutes as he suffered a concussion.
He took the bold step of voluntarily withdrawing from the 2021 tournament due to concussion symptoms and visited a consultant in London for tests during what he described as a “strange and uncertain period”.
Former Ireland international winger Tommy Bowe described him as a “source of inspiration”, adding: “It’s difficult to have intense competition with someone for your position. You don’t want to give them a chance. ” he said.
For Doris, it’s an investment in the future.
Doris, who has been wearing a scrum cap since his return, said: “When I’m unsure about the future, I always look back at the baseline.”
“I’m glad I made the decision. It was definitely a difficult decision, but I’m grateful I made it and I’m grateful to be able to play again.”
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