Ireland’s Jack Carty reveals dying cousin’s wishes

Connacht fly-half Carty stepped off the bench in the closing stages of Ireland’s 26-16 Guinness Six Nations win over Italy in Rome, for an emotional first cap.

The 26-year-old believes he has boosted his consistency out of sight in the last year - and all because his late cousin Brian Carty sat him down and told him he had to have no regrets on his career.

“My game over the last couple of years has been up and down; there’s been a dramatic improvement in consistency in the last 10 to 12 months and I suppose that was cutting out little errors, then probably getting the finishing edges to a couple of things.

“I put my head down. I didn’t want it to be a ‘what if?’ scenario.

“It’s coming up on a year since a close cousin passed away and before he passed away, he said ‘Don’t have any regrets’. That’s something that’s spurred me on.

“My cousin Brian, he was 28 and he passed away this time last year.

“I’m delighted for my family but his family as well. It’s been a tough time for his family and my family. I’m delighted that I can dedicate this cap to him.”

Carty swapped shirts with Italy counterpart Ian McKinley, the Dublin-born former Leinster fly-half who had to retire when blinded in one eye.

McKinley has relaunched his career with Benetton and Italy after World Rugby sanctioned him wearing special protective goggles.

The Connacht playmaker revealed his full delight on a day to remember, before heading off as nervous about singing his initiation song as making his Test debut.

Primed to belt out Ben E King’s Stand By Me for his team-mates, Carty added: “I’m going to have to go and sing this song at the post-match function now.

“To be honest, I don’t know how nervous I was for the match or if it was the public speaking and singing after it.

“I’ve ticked three boxes so once I get that over with, I’ll be able to relax a bit more.

“I kept both my jerseys. Josh van der Flier, being a top man, managed to give me his spare one and I managed to get Ian McKinley’s, which I was delighted to get.

“I’m absolutely delighted. I’ve been working a long, long time for it and I’m delighted to finally get the monkey off the back and get a cap at long last.”