Debut was 'worth the wait' for Ciarán Frawley and Calvin Nash

Having waited more than 18 months to make his Ireland debut, Ciarán Frawley's first cap eventually arrived earlier than he had expected.

A shoulder injury to Jimmy O'Brien in the opening half of Ireland's 33-17 win against Italy on Saturday saw the versatile Leinster back introduced at half time, and the 40 minutes he got to play at out-half at the Aviva Stadium was more than he had bargained for.

"It was unbelievable, very special," the 25-year-old said after winning his first Test cap, after some previous near-misses due to injury.

"It's been since November 2021 that I've been in and out of camp, so to finally get it was definitely worth the wait. I got the nod at half-time with Jimmy O'Brien picking up a bit of knock, thankfully he's alright, but it was nice to get the time I got."

Calvin Nash had an altogether different wait. Having watched Frawley and Tom Stewart introduced around the break, the Munster wing was the last man standing on the replacements bench before getting the nod to come on for Robbie Henshaw just after the hour mark.

"I saw Frawley getting on early and I was wondering when I'd get on, itching to go," he said.

"When I got the ball, I just wanted to get straight into the game and get as many touches as I could. It was class.

"I suppose being on the pitch for two seconds and nearly getting into a bit of a scrap was a bit funny, a good way to start and settle the nerves a tiny bit."

There was a neat symmetry to both Frawley and Nash getting to make their Test debuts alongside each other, the pair having roomed together at U20 level for Ireland before doing the same again this week.

Frawley is well established in the wider Irish squad by now, having come in initially in November 2021, and being a regular in