Sports people do their best to build their defences against the brickbats that inevitably come their way, but no shield is fully effective. J ack Carty turned 30 last month – and the Connacht captain has endured all the ups and downs that a career in the professional ranks can throw at you. Still, when someone as legendary as Ronan O’Gara took aim, the Athlone native was forced to take notice. Having fought his way back into the international ranks and won his first cap in three years during the Six Nations, Carty had reason to believe things were beginning to go his way. But at the end of that tournament, O’Gara pointed out what he perceived as a lack of consistency in Carty’s performances. “My abiding memory of the Six Nations, as well, is that Jack Carty was out-half for Connacht that went to Edinburgh and the score was 56-8,” he said. “The staff and coaches look at that (performance) and that rocks everything about your environment, your culture and what you stand for. “And then you’re going to go, ‘Well Test level is another level up and I am the out-half on that team that has gone to an away game and we’ve copped 50 points’. “It is a very, very harsh message but every game counts; especially when you are not the incumbent – every game counts. The out-half is the driver of the team. ” Carty heard the message loud and clear. “When I saw that, firstly I was hurt enough because actually I look up to ROG,” the out-half admitted. “I suppose you have to take a level of maturity from it – and instead of pointing fingers at everyone else, look at it. “The Edinburgh game was a disappointing one, but I would look at it and say how other tens had poor performances in that circle that didn’t get pointed at. “But, yeah, hurt enough when he said that alright. “It’s one of those things, it comes with the territory, I think. Read More 'I try to keep it real casual' - Josh van der Flier’s more relaxed approach to games paying dividends World Cup looms large for Andy Farrell as one-year countdown begins ‘For a lot of us, this is really the pinnacle of our career’ – Megan Burns proud to represent Tullamore on world stage “I was obviously hurt, momentary, and then I obviously had to look inward, and say is what is he saying true? “And when I look back at that Edinburgh performance, yeah, it would have been true. So I had to take what he said and look at my game, look at the peers around me. “There were 23 players that day who performed really poorly. It comes with the territory. I’m sure he would have had someone do that to him when he was playing, so it is part and parcel of the job. ” Carty is in a race to be fit for Connacht’s season-opener against Ulster tomorrow week after undergoing shoulder surgery at the end of the last campaign. That ruled him out of the series win over New Zealand, but he remains determined to add to his 11 caps and fight his way into Andy Farrell’s World Cup plans. “I’d like to think so,” he said. “I also am aware that I’m now 30 and they may look at younger players. “However, I’m confident that if we in Connacht have a good season and push towards finals – and that if I play a prominent role in that, it will be tough not to be in that selection call. “Fortunately, touch wood, I have been lucky with injuries and that’s kind of how I got in in 2019, that’s how I managed to get in last year again. “So all I can do is worry about my form and then hopefully the rugby gods will kind of get me in there. ” With a new artificial pitch being installed at the Sportsground, Connacht have a fiendishly difficult run to open the campaign, with Ulster away followed by two weeks in South Africa before they host Munster and Leinster in Galway. “We’re looking at it in a completely different way. You’re playing three inter-pros and then playing the winners and runners-up,” he said. “What better challenge? “We do have belief there that on our day we can match up with everyone. It’s about doing that from week to week. “We will speak about it now in terms of our consistency, but the players we have brought in, the players who have come through, then the bit of foreign X factor we have brought in, there’s a lot of resemblance to the 2016 season in the feeling I have now. “We’re really excited for the start of the season. ” Read More 'I try to keep it real casual' - Josh van der Flier’s more relaxed approach to games paying dividends World Cup looms large for Andy Farrell as one-year countdown begins ‘For a lot of us, this is really the pinnacle of our career’ – Megan Burns proud to represent Tullamore on world stage.