Ireland's 'unicorn' Andrew Porter happy to raise the volume

Last week, Ireland's head of athletic performance Aled Walters described Andrew Porter as a "unicorn", and it’s easy to see why.

As he sits down at a trestle table to speak to the media at the IRFU’s high performance centre this week, the loosehead prop cuts an unmistakable figure (see below), with the sleeves cut off his team-issue polo shirt amplifying his enormous, tattooed arms.

"It's just a bit of me, isn't it?" he replies, when asked about the fashion choice, before folding under questioning, and admitting he was the victim of an in-house forfeit.

Combine that with the mullet and moustache, and the 29-year-old has the look of a 1990s wrestling superstar.

As striking as the look is, Walters was describing Porter's ability last week when he said the Leinster prop was a one of a kind.

In an era where front row forwards rarely play more than 55 minutes at a time, Porter is regularly going beyond 70, and sometimes hitting 80.

Such is his importance to Leinster, the province have experimented this season by starting him on the bench before introducing him early in the first half, as a means to ensure he’s still on the pitch at the end. Last summer against the Springboks in South Africa, he dislocated a finger so badly it broke through the skin and required a surgical procedure after the game. And yet he still pitched up to start the second Test a week later in Durban.

Earlier this month, England and Leicester Tigers tighthead Dan Cole described the Ireland international as like being another back row in the Ireland pack, citing his work-rate and high tackle count week on week.

Porter, however, is keeping the head down.

"I suppose I’m just doing what’s asked of me, really," he says, ahead of this afternoon’s game against Wales.

"I'