I’d carry water if I could make a difference – Conan

“I’ve been bouncing in every day. It’s an incredible privilege”.

After an 11-month absence from the green jersey, Ireland’s Jack Conan wasted little time in getting back up to speed.

The Leinster number 8 was introduced in the 50th minute, which helped the team win the Six Nations title on Saturday, with a bench impact of 27-22 victory over England.

The 32-year-old appeared to have never been away, but admitted he had felt the impact of the trip while missing last summer’s tour to South Africa for the birth of his first child and then Ireland’s entire November slate due to injury.

“I hadn’t played]for Ireland] since 16 March last year, 11 odd months”, he said.

“Obviously expecting a baby, that was far more important than rugby, but missing November with an injury, you miss the environment, you miss the craic, you miss the lads.

In making one particularly dynamic linebreak, Conan admitted he even surprised himself.

” It’s not something that happens to me that often. I was looking around for lads, “he said.

” You have to know your limitations. I did believe that if I chip over him and catch it, it would look incredible. But I’d never done it before, which probably wasn’t the right time to do it.

Conan’s replacement Dan Sheehan was given the task of setting up the bonus-point try instead. Conan was relieved to see his Leinster teammate return to the Test stage just seven months after suffering a torn ACL against the Springboks in November despite missing the previous two months with such a serious injury.

It’s so difficult to just come back and hit your straps when you’ve been missing for that long.

“He had the 60 minutes for Leinster against Stormers]on 25 January] and now this and it’s like he was never away. That is such a challenging task.

Conan, who started in the British and Irish Lions’ three Test matches against South Africa four years ago, acknowledges that he has since gained a reputation for being “decent” off the bench and is willing to play any part to help the team win.

” In modern day rugby it’s never just about the 15, it’s about the 23 and even more so it’s about the lads who aren’t playing, who put us under savage pressure throughout the week, “he said.

” Jeez, I’d carry water if I could make a difference.

“Look, you always want to be starting. You don’t want ego, but you want to have the biggest impact possible.