Garry Ringrose excited by 'special' opportunity with Ireland

It may be the final game of a 13-month season, but for Garry Ringrose there's no sense that Ireland’s tank is running dry.

The centre hasn’t logged the same minutes as some of his team-mates over the last year and a bit, mainly due to the shoulder injury which kept him sidelined for the bulk of the last six months.

He picked up the knock in Leinster's final pool game of the Investec Champions Cup against the Leicester Tigers at the end of January, and didn’t return until a substitute appearance in the last round of the Six Nations.

It was a premature dawn, and he continued to be bothered by the injury for the next few months, before finally getting back on the field with Leinster in their BKT URC semi-final defeat to the Bulls in Pretoria.

Ringrose was back at Loftus Versfeld last weekend, named on the bench for Ireland’s first Test against the Springboks, and while Andy Farrell’s side were beaten 27-20, the Leinster co-captain was one of the better performers in green on the day, with his half time introduction putting some heat into a cold Irish defence.

The 29-year-old (below) says he’s been like a coiled spring waiting to get back into the thick of the action.

"I think even when coming back, you have no excuses [not to perform]," he said.

"If you get a couple of weeks running at training, it shouldn't be an excuse not to be match fit.

"It's been great – two losses, so I can't say they've been good experiences at the end of the day, but it's always a privilege to get back playing and appreciate how lucky an opportunity it is to get."

While Ireland are down after last Saturday’s first Test, Ringrose insists they’re by no means out as they look to finish the season in style in Durban on Saturday.

"What I remember Andy [Farrell]