'Athletically, he is phenomenal. We really don't produce guys like him in Ireland'
21-year-old Ryan Baird made his Ireland debut last weekend and looks set for further Six Nations involvement.
By Murray Kinsella
Saturday 6 Mar 2021, 8:00 AM
Mar 6th 2021, 8:00 AM
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THERE ARE INTERNATIONAL backs, some of them wingers, who will be jealous of Ryan Baird’s speed.
The little GPS unit that sits into a pocket on the upper back of rugby players’ jerseys has clocked the 21-year-old Leinster lock moving at just over 10 metres per second during a game.
To put that in context, the average max speed for a wing at the 2019 World Cup was 9.2 metres per second, and it’s no exaggeration to say that Baird – who made his Ireland debut against Italy in the Six Nations last weekend – is one of the quickest forwards in world rugby.