Jimmy Gopperth not surprised to see great strides Ross Byrne has taken as signs were always evident

When Jimmy Gopperth left Leinster in 2015, you’d have gotten good odds on him being involved against them in a Heineken Champions Cup quarter-final just shy of his 40th birthday.

On these shores, the fact Johnny Sexton is still at the top of his game at 37 rightly gets plenty of plaudits, yet Gopperth’s longevity tends to fly under the radar.

The Kiwi spent two seasons at Leinster, during which time he was a very popular member of the squad. A keen surfer, at this stage of his career, Gopperth could easily have decided to pack in rugby and move back to New Zealand; only, like Sexton, the fire still burns strong.

Having ended up at Leicester via Wasps, that Gopperth was still in demand by a top Premiership club when Wasps folded speaks volumes for his remarkable durability.

On Friday night at the Aviva Stadium, he is set to come up against plenty of familiar faces as he relishes the chance to return to the city he once called home.

“I loved it, absolutely loved my time in Dublin,” Gopperth said. “Great city, great people. I have some really fond memories, winning the PRO14, I think it was called back then.

“Then had the devastating loss in the semi-final of Europe to Toulon. I had some great rugby memories, created some great friends from that team. I still keep in touch with a lot of them.”

As for which of his former team-mates he still keeps in touch with, Gopperth has an interesting plot twist about one of them.

“Mike McCarthy and Brendan Macken over this way. Actually, Brendan Macken ended up being my brother-in-law, which is a long story,” Gopperth laughed.

“We catch up with them and obviously Jordi Murphy and a few of those boys, always chatting to those sort of guys, keeping in touch just to see what’s going on.”

Gopperth was signed by Leinster in 2013 to help offset the loss of Sexton, who headed to Paris to join Racing.

Although he won’t get the chance to face the injured Sexton on Friday, Gopperth will encounter Ross Byrne, who was only making his way in the Leinster system while the New Plymouth native was at the club.

With South African World Cup-winning out-half Handre Pollard set to start at 10 for Leicester, Gopperth could be deployed as a second-playmaker at ‘12’ – a role he often filled for Leinster, which means Byrne will have to be alive to the double threat.

“He (Byrne) was a young fella coming through the Academy when I was there, but he was on the field all the time, so you could see the ability he had, his attention to detail and willingness to learn,” Gopperth recalled.

“So, there are no surprises where he has got to, I think he has been brilliant for them. And brilliant when he’s played for Ireland.

“I think he has really been leading the team well. Johnny is Johnny, and he’s a big loss to them, but I don’t think they have lost too much because he has been playing really, really well. I’m sure on Friday night, he will be looking to guide his team around.”

Leicester were on the end of a convincing defeat at the same stage of last year’s tournament at Welford Road, with Gopperth, who has been back to the Aviva with Wasps, warning that his Tigers side must bring their ‘A’ game to stand any hope of causing what would be a major upset.

“It’s a bit of everything, isn’t it? You’ve got to be smart, tactically smart in your game-plan and the way that you try break them down,” he maintained.

“So, Wiggy (Richard Wigglesworth) and the crew have been very good at giving us a plan that we are comfortable with. And that’s the other thing, you’ve got to be comfortable with what you’re doing, so you’re not second guessing yourself.

“But it’s also about having a couple of plans because if one plan isn’t working, you’ve got to have the ability to change and change very, very quickly.

“I think there are enough senior players in the group with experience that we will be able to do that. We have to make sure we go out and just play our game and really fight for what we are trying to achieve.”

At 39 and to still be harbouring that same insatiable desire for success is a testament to the evergreen Gopperth, who added: “I love the game and if I still feel like I can give something to the team to help them grow and win, that’s what I want to do because I just love winning.”