Calvin Nash | From Rising Star To Ireland International

Calvin Nash became the latest Munster player to earn his first international cap for Ireland against Italy in Dublin on Saturday night.

It was just reward off the back of his best season for Munster since making his debut as a first year Academy player in the 2016/17 campaign.

His journey began long before then however, with Nash starting out with the Young Munster minis before progressing to Schools Rugby with Crescent College Comprehensive.

Earmarked as a very promising winger with pace to burn, Nash was brought into the Munster pathway in his teens.

Calvin at the 2016 Munster Schools Senior Cup final.

He was a member of the Munster U18 Schools side that won the Interprovincial title in 2014/15.

On the international front he represented Ireland U18 Schools and U19s before enjoying further interprovincial success as part of the 2015/16 Munster U20 side.

He played in a Schools Senior Cup final with Crescent in March 2016 before joining the Munster Academy in June 2016.

The Academy intake that season also included Gavin Coombes, Shane Daly and Fineen Wycherley – with all four going on to earn Ireland caps.

His first year in the Academy saw Nash make a huge impact.

At Munster training during his first weeks as an Academy player in August 2016.

He starred for Young Munster in the AIL, made his senior Munster debut, captained the Ireland U20s and won the British & Irish Cup with Munster A.

New Munster Academy & Pathway Manager Gearoid Prendergast was the Young Munster Head Coach at the time and can remember Nash, who had only just turned 19, immediately impress at senior level.

“When he left Crescent Comp and came to Young Munster in 2016, my first impression was that this is a really exciting player. He had a huge reputation coming out of school, he was a big name and there was probably a bit of expectation on his shoulders – which added its own pressures.

“That first year playing AIL, he got straight onto the team and just excelled – particularly in the window between September and Christmas before the Ireland U20s kicked in.

“He was exceptional to be honest.

“He was surrounded by older players at Young Munster but his leadership qualities were very much on the pitch. When he spoke, he spoke very well and he was very articulate. His biggest attributes were his power and speed.

“He had the maturity even back then to know that he needed to do more than just be on the wing, to work off the wing and get on the ball a lot. Defensively he got involved in poaching etc but he always had that ability to score something out of nothing. He was one of those fast-twitch fibre players and had that ability to explode and get away from people.

“One try comes to mind that has often been spoke about. We were up in Lansdowne in his first season in the AIL. He scored a try from the middle of the pitch and literally beat nearly every Lansdowne player to score an unbelievable try. That’s still one of the best tries I’ve seen in the AIL so when I saw that try, I thought to myself that this guy has incredible ability.”

In AIL action for Young Munster against Clontarf during the 2017 1A semi-final.

His progress was stalled by injury the following two seasons but he still managed two tries in 10 senior appearances and moved up to the Munster senior squad for 2018/19.

The 2019/20 campaign saw Calvin make further strides with a Champions Cup debut at Thomond Park in January before Covid struck. He did rack up another 10 Munster appearances and continued to gain experience with eight appearances in each of the following two seasons before a magnificent 2022/23 campaign.

He was selected on the Emerging Ireland tour to South Africa at the start of season and then lined out for Ireland A against the All Blacks XV in November.

It was his best season for tries and appearances for Munster with his seven tries in 17 appearances including a try in the URC Grand Final.

He also started all five of Munster’s Champions Cup fixtures, his first appearances in the competition since 2020.

A memorable campaign was capped off by his Ireland debut in Dublin on Saturday night, two days before his 25th birthday.

Running in a try in the URC Grand Final.

The journey from schools star to Ireland international hasn’t always been plain-sailing for Nash and Prendergast believes his mindset has played a key role in his success to date.

“He has a great attitude, he loves the game, loves to play rugby,” Prendergast explains.

“I remember speaking to his dad Jason and he was telling me about how much he loved the game from a young age. He’s thriving now, you can really see it in his game – he has a smile on his face and he’s playing regular rugby and I think that’s the biggest thing over the last few years.

“Once he got that clear run from injuries like last year for example, it’s no surprise that he’s kicked on and got that first cap so absolutely delighted for him.

“The club will be delighted, like any club would be in Munster when their players get their first cap – they’ll be extremely proud. His family will be very proud, his school will be very proud – Crescent Comp. I know his family as well, they’re a great family and his brother Brandon plays too.

“I know that Jason is a proud dad, I can remember meeting him at schools games all those years ago when Calvin was playing so I’m sure it was a very proud moment for them on Saturday seeing Calvin run out in a green jersey.“

Calvin Nash with his father Jason. Photo: Young Munster RFC