Jack Conan driven by New Zealand tour regrets as Rugby World Cup countdown begins

While the majority of Ireland players arrived back from New Zealand on a high, Jack Conan was experiencing mixed emotions.

The 30-year-old played his part in a historic tour, featuring in four of the five matches including all three Tests against the All Blacks.

However, on each occasion Conan found himself playing the role of impact replacement.

He had started five of Ireland's eight internationals leading into the New Zealand tour, as well as all three British and Irish Lions Tests the previous summer, but a bout of Covid over Christmas contributed to his form dipping during the Six Nations and he fell behind Munster's Peter O'Mahony in the back row pecking order.

He was sprung from the bench for the final quarter of all three Tests against New Zealand, but his total game time of 52 minutes felt unsatisfactory.

"Firstly, I was delighted to be involved and to be down there and be part of such a great squad and make a bit of history," said Conan.

"Obviously I would have loved to have had a bit more involvement than I did but that's just the way it is. I probably hadn't done myself enough justice in the months previous to that for a few different reasons.

"At the end of the day I was just happy to be there and just happy to be involved. It was a great few weeks away with a good bunch of lads.

"It's something that even when you retire, you'll look back on to say you were part of that first ever Irish team to go down there and win a Test and then a series. It was something really special.

"[I'm] grateful but I think I left a little bit out there as well, which is a little bit disappointing on a personal note."

That disappointment has given Conan added motivation heading into a big 12 months for Irish rugby. Some alterations during