Cian Healy may be one of the most recognisable people in Irish rugby, but he’s also one of the quietest.
In a career that has seen him climb more mountains peaks than there are in the Himalayas, Healy has aguably achieved greater success in side-stepping the media and avoiding the limelight.
However, there was no dodging the bright lights of stardom as he broke Brian O’Driscoll’s record of 133 international appearance s to become Ireland’s most capped player when he came off the bench for the latter stages of Saturday’s 22-19 win over Australia.
“It felt good. It was a good feeling,” said Healy on cap number 134.
“I haven’t unpacked the feeling and emotion of it all just yet. I kind of stay in the present as much as possible and enjoy the moment.”
Once the hysteria dies a little, Healy will sit down with his family to properly digest his big day.
“I’d like to sit down and watch the game at home at some point over the next few days,” he said
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“That’s what I do with most games and start my review and what-nots. It will be nice to sit down with the family at home.”
His loved ones were all present on Saturday too and when Healy took to the field prior to the game, he was flanked by his two sons.
“I enjoyed that with the boys. They were remarkably well behaved. I was afraid one of them would take a bolt. I enjoyed it, yeah,” said the prop.
Being on the pitch with his sons added to the emotion of the day, and when the anthems started, there were signs the occasion just might have been getting to him.
“It was trick, yeah. I was singing Amhrán na Bhfiann and cracked up a bit. So, I just stopped to regather. I don’t know why. There wasn’t anything in particular on my mind. A lot of emotion during the week.
“And I wasn’t blocking it out or anything like that. But I just had to take a moment.”
And when his moment came to enter the field of play in the 67th minute ‘Church’, as he is known by his team-mates, admitted to feeling that little bit more fired up than normal following the reception he received.
“I got a vibe from the roar and it perked me up a little bit,” he said.
“I had a guess during the week what my thoughts would be – a lineout or a scrum, and I was right. I was in for a scrum so kind of hunkering down to what I had to do there.
“But it was a nice moment and I enjoyed it.”
Healy’s longevity is also remarkable considering the position he plays. As he revealed, he not only tests himself, he also tests those around him so he can continue to break down any barriers that stand in his way.
“There is a different focus and then testing yourself a little bit. And sometimes you want to get super-fit in the off-season, you want to get strong as possible,” he said.
“I don’t think I’ve done rinse and repeat from one season to the other. You have to evolve and test yourself a little bit and question S&C guys a little bit and make their job a little bit harder to figure out how you could push on.
“It’s great because we have such quality there because when you ask the questions of them, they have to go away and think about it and come back with something.
“And that’s been great. It’s kept it fresh for me every year and that’s a great feeling when you do enough years.”
