Leinster vs Edinburgh

With little international experience to
draw on, it was the advice of senior
teammates that got him in the right frame
of mind.
“I didn’t really know what to expect
going down to Musgrave Park. I wasn’t
sure what it would be like. I actually
spoke to Scott Penny and he said it’s
unbelievable and explained how massive
it is, so I knew it was a big deal.
“You kind of get a grasp of it once you
get down there. When you run onto the
pitch, it’s a pretty cool experience. It was
definitely a level up and you could feel
that physically. The way the coaches
prepared us was similar to here at
Leinster. The training meant we were able
to deal with that.”
But, after impressive wins over Scotland,
Wales and England, including two tries
for Hernan in the game against the
Welsh, the flanker was left in limbo.
“It was quite annoying. The coaches kept
reminding us to keep working towards
the World Cup in the summer, and we
thought we’d play the last two games in
a few weeks. We didn’t know the severity
of Covid and what it was going to do.
About two or three months before the
World Cup, we could see it wasn’t going
to happen.”
With restrictions starting to ease and the
disappointment of the U-20 cancelations
behind him, and now with a strong
block of gym work in the bank, Hernan
was back in the sub-Academy trying to
impress.
“I was training with Jack Boyle, Temi
Lasisi, Chris Cosgrave and all of those
lads. I was training with them for about
eight months or so which was great,
but I was itching to get up to UCD and
experience what the senior set up was
like.”
Eventually, the phone call finally came.
After injury setbacks, missing
representative selection and a global
pandemic, Mark Hernan would be
joining the Leinster Academy full time.
It’s a phone call that he will never forget.
“It was in the middle of June, 2021,
when I got the call. I was out playing
golf with a few friends. I got the call out
of nowhere to say I would be getting a
contract in the summer. I was over the
moon. It was nice that I had my mates
there to share it with them.
“Even for my family, because I know they
feel the stress I feel, maybe even worse.
Every time I come home if things haven’t
gone well and I’m in a bad mood, it
can easily rub off on everyone. It was
a big relief for the family and they were
delighted for me, which was great. I rang
my brother first. I rang my best mate to let
him know too. It was special. Something I
won’t forget for a while.”
Later that summer, Hernan began preseason
in UCD as a full Academy player.
With lots of senior players still away,
it was an opportunity to learn from the
best.
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