McGrath making the most of every single day

Moving into his 30s has seen Luke McGrath adopt a new attitude to life as a rugby player.

The Ireland international scrum-half is now making the most of every single day and enjoying the game as much as he ever has.

As such, he’s delighted to have signed a new contract with Leinster Rugby who he has been with for some 13 years, making no fewer than 225 appearances.

The 32-year-old remains a key member of the squad, having figured in 12 games this season, including seven BKT URC starts, scoring four tries in the process.

He will have a vital role to play this weekend as one of the most experienced players on duty for the league leaders as they take on the third-placed Vodacom Bulls at Pretoria’s Loftus Versfeld.

The man born in Ontario, Canada, but raised and schooled in Dublin, is now edging towards the veteran category, having turned 32 last month.

“You are definitely more aware of having less years ahead of you as a player. I suppose, since I turned 30, I’ve just thought about enjoying every single year I have here,” he says.

“It’s such a special club to be at. I have been here a long, long time and made a lot of great friends. There are great people in this club.

“So I just try and enjoy every single day here now and really look forward to the future ahead.

“It’s just great to be able to be around this place, as it’s so enjoyable. I’m still loving my rugby, I’m still competitive.

“Every single player in this club wants to play as much as they can, so it’s been great to get a lot of games recently.

“I am really enjoying my rugby at the minute and really looking forward to the huge challenge ahead this week.”

Reflecting on his contract extension, he says: “I am delighted to get it done. I want to be here for as long as I can, so it was great to get that deal over the line.

“As the years go by, I don’t really know what’s going to happen in the future. But, this time around, all I wanted to do was sign up to be in Leinster for next year and thankfully I was able to get that sorted.

“I am hugely excited for the run-in for the end of this season. We have got a lot of big games coming up and I’m obviously looking forward to next year as well now.”

Turning his attention to the meeting with the Bulls, he said: “Obviously our record over the last few years in South Africa hasn’t been great, but it’s a different team here at the minute.

“We know there is a massive challenge ahead of us, but we have tried to flip it on its head and talk about what an amazing opportunity it is to play at Loftus, to play a world class team like the Bulls.

“We obviously have a youngish squad here, but it’s a great opportunity and one we are really relishing. It’s an amazing place to play rugby.”

On the threats posed by the opposition, McGrath - who won 19 caps for Ireland between 2016 and 2019 - says: “If you start with the pack, they are very good at the breakdown, very good at lineout drive and very strong at scrum.

“Then they have a very good kicking game as well, through Le Roux and Papier. Then they have speed on the outside. So there are challenges everywhere. They are a world class team.”