Four weeks ago Johnny Holland was the wildcard selection to face Leinster – but since then his career has entered a new chapter.
The 24-year-old, who was being initiated into first-team rugby at Munster, had run out in a seven-try romp, the week before, against Zebre in the Guinness PRO12.
“To be selected for that game was probably a game changer for me. It showed a bit of confidence behind me for a player only coming into the squadJohnny Holland
Suddenly, and unexpectedly, he was now responsible for wearing the red No 10 shirt in a sacred tribal rivalry with Johnny Sexton, his illustrious contemporary and winner of European Cups, Six Nations titles and an international series for the Lions.
It was a call that altered the course of Holland’s career, even the player himself could not deny it.
“To be selected for that game was probably a game changer for me. It showed a bit of confidence behind me for a player only coming into the squad,” the fly half said.
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His response was to provide all 13 of Munster’s points, including his first try for the province, and at the time of his substitution, which has since been scrutinised, the scores were level. Munster went on lose by only three points without him on the field, but in defeat Holland showed that they had at least unearthed a diamond from the rough.
“I was massively nervous for it, as you would be,” he said. “I didn’t expect it to go so well for me personally but we lost and I would trade that in a heartbeat for the win but I was happy with my performance and it does give you the impetus to drive on.”
Drive on he has and, in defeat by Connacht on April 16 and victory over Edinburgh on Friday, he has brought a new level of incision and ambition to Munster’s attacking game, while he possesses a tactical kicking sense of which Ronan O’Gara would approve.
His goalkicking has added another layer of assurance to his new team-mates and his coaches. He went out on to the field against Edinburgh having made every kick that came his way his past three starts. Despite missing two conversions on Friday, the Cork man now boasts 34 points from his last four games and a kicking accuracy of 89 per cent.
Holland’s emergence, and the potential of him becoming Munster’s No 10 for many seasons to come, will be fêted with gusto within the province, because he is a product of Cork sod and one of their own.
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The out-half was no teenage prodigy, either. His school, Coláiste Chríost Rí, is not a member of the Munster rugby hierarchy, and their best known sporting alumni are Denis Irwin, the former Ireland and Manchester United defender, and Billy Morgan, the former Cork football manager.
“There’s always pride comes out in the lads when they are playing in Cork. You can see it in fellas we just love playing hereJohnny Holland
Holland’s alma mater is a 15-minute walk from Musgrave Park, where Munster pulled off a vital win against Edinburgh, and he grew up only five minutes away from the ground. If the supporters are happy to have a new local hero, the boy next door is thrilled to oblige.
“I’m literally living over the road so I was looking forward to the game so much; probably too much. I had a lot of people coming to the game for me personally and a lot of the people had interest in the game for us,” Holland, one of ten men from Cork in Munster’s squad, said.
“There’s always pride comes out in the lads when they are playing in Cork. You can see it in fellas we just love playing here, it’s actually a really nice stadium. I know it’s smaller than Thomond Park but that works out well.”
After four games in the Munster No 10 jersey, Holland should have acclimatised to the levels of expectation that come with it. They are threads made special by Tony Ward, Mick Kiernan and O’Gara, all of whom have represented Ireland and the Lions.
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Now Munster must finish the season by beating Scarlets in Limerick on Saturday to book their place in the European Champions Cup next season.
“Absolutely non-negotiable,” Holland said about playing in Europe’s elite club rugby tournament. “Everybody speaks about it for a reason so that’s up to us to go and get it and the win over Edinburgh was the first step to doing it but we have one more to go though.
“Going forward we need to be going for the top-four positions [in the PRO12] and even further. We want to be getting home semi-finals in this competition.
“To pull a score like that out of the bag in the 76th minute against Edinburgh, we nearly wanted to celebrate but it’s not what we’re about, we’re top four finishers normally. Of course there is a sense of pride in it, but our backs were to the wall and we have to enjoy coming out of that that position but we want to go further.”
If he looks a Munster No 10, plays like one and talks like one, then Johnny Holland might just be the one for a long time yet.