'A lot of things are different now' - Ross Byrne focused on the present

Ross Byrne is living in the now.

The past and anything much beyond the immediate task of getting picked in Andy Farrell's 33-man World Cup squad is not something he wants to spend too much time discussing.

Champions Cup heartbreak with Leinster last May?

"That’s gone now. That’s put behind us."

His Ireland comeback after a 20-month spell in the wilderness, when the out-half kicked the winning penalty to beat Australia in November?

"When it happened I took confidence from it going forward but it seems a long time ago now so there’s not really too much point in thinking about it now."

Stand-out World Cup memories?

"Em... none probably really."

A potential clutch kick, a dropgoal maybe, in France during the World Cup?

"Ah, well it's probably quite a bit away if those moments do happen but during the match week you'd do your own kind of mental preparation and you prepare in the best possible way and if you do get the moments, hopefully it comes off."

The 2019 World Cup warm-up disaster in Twickenham? Don’t even go there.

"We can't still be talking about that, are we? It was four years ago!"

Given the unfair reputational damage done to the then-24-year-old by the 57-15 defeat, and with a re-match against England to come, it’s a fair question.

"Well, I think a lot of things are different now," he adds.

"I think every... look, when you play 10 you get scrutinised if you lose.

"When you lose badly, you get scrutinised. I'm very well aware of how that works in the media. I've accepted that a long time ago. So, that's well put behind me."

As Johnny Sexton’s deputies jostled for position, Byrne even found himself behind younger brother, Harry, in the pecking order.

So the bounce back, to a point where he featured in all five Grand Slam games,