McCloskey comfortable being Ireland's elder statesman

McCloskey made his Ireland debut in 2016 and played at the 2023 World Cup When Stuart McCloskey last represented Ireland in Georgia, 10 years ago, his world looked a lot different. Fresh off winning Ulster's young player of the year award at the end of his first full season in senior rugby, he travelled with the Emerging Ireland squad for the now-defunct Tbilisi Cup in 2015. Then just 22, McCloskey admits he was "pretty naive" back then. Now, with nearly a decade of Test experience and over 200 Ulster caps under his belt, he has a "few more grey hairs" and knows "what I'm about these days". This much is true. Even within the controlled environment of a press conference, McCloskey is able to show that he is comfortable in his own skin. Finlay Bealham's British and Irish Lions call-up means he is the elder statesmen of interim head coach Paul O'Connell's Ireland squad. He jokes that Bealham "absolutely did me in" and admits O'Connell "gets a dig in most days about how old I am", but he seems happy being the only squad member to have celebrated his 30th birthday. He also likes to tell Ulster team-mates Jacob Stockdale and Nick Timoney he will outlast them. "I'm happy to be the calm head," says McCloskey, who will turn 33 in August. "I feel like that's normally what I am in these teams no matter who's playing around me, but there's plenty of guys there like Craig [Casey] and Sam [Prendergast] who've run the backline very well over the last few weeks in here. "Sam's come in in the Six Nations and done very well so I'll just play off them, give them the space and hopefully they run in a few tries for us. During the last Lions tour in 2021, McCloskey furthered his case for a spot in the Ireland starting line-up with tries in wins over Japan and the United States. Through no fault of his own, it hasn't quite panned out that way, but considering the constant presence of Bundee Aki, Robbie Henshaw and Garry Ringrose, 19 caps represents a solid return to this point for a player who was not offered a place in Ulster's academy after leaving Bangor Grammar. "I don't think I'm doing a lot wrong," he says. "I think when I've played I've went well, it's just there's four very good centres in the lads, two of them are away [Aki and Ringrose] and you could argue Robbie would've been away as well if he wasn't injured, so I don't think I'm too far off it. "What can I do better? Keep improving on a few things, probably a bit more physicality in defence, I think I've got most things in attack. "[I'll try to] add a few more strings to my bow, whether that's breakdown or poach threat, but overall I don't think there's a lot in it. A few decisions go my way, I'm sitting here with a few more caps." Ulster's 19-17 win over Munster in 2014 was McCloskey's second start for the province McCloskey, whose last Ireland start came against Italy in February 2024, is expected to partner Jamie Osborne in the midfield in Saturday's Test against Georgia. Osborne, 23, is known as one of Ireland's most versatile players. He can play at either inside or outside centre and started at full-back and right wing against Wales and France in this year's Six Nations. "Jamie's been great. He's the kind of guy that slips into any position fairly well," said McCloskey. "You can play him anywhere over the backline and he'll do a great job. We've had a good combination going there the last couple of days. "He's physical, he's got all the skills and everything you'd want in a rugby player. I'm sure he'll go on and get a lot more caps under his belt over the next 10 years." As for himself, McCloskey wants to use the Georgia and Portugal games to stake his claim ahead of a glamorous autumn programme that includes Ireland's rematch against the All Blacks in Chicago and a home Test against double world champions South Africa. That means impressing O'Connell, who he played against in the old Pro12 days. "Ulster sent down the biggest B team of all time because it was a dead rubber at the end of the season and Munster had their best team out," McCloskey recalls of Ulster's19-17 winat Thomond Park in May 2014. "I remember it very well. Michael Heaney scored a try, they were trying to get to second and we were fourth, couldn't go up or down, it was back in the Pro12 days and we got the win, I think it was my fourth cap." Perhaps he mentions it to O'Connell when the towering Irish icon brings us McCloskey's age? "No, but I like to think he knows it. I'm trying to get picked this week!"