Max Deegan delighted after meeting childhood hero Kieran Read

Max Deegan plans to use some of the "golden nuggets" of information gleaned from childhood hero Kieran Read when Leinster face the Scarlets on Friday.

Two-time Rugby World Cup winner Read was an interested onlooker at the Aviva Stadium as Leinster defeated Munster and the All Blacks legend rocked up to UCD for their training session on Monday.

"I would have grown up watching Kieran Read all the time," said fellow No 8 Deegan.

"He was an unbelievable player. The way he played the game, with his skillset and smarts, that's something that I’ve always tried to model my game on, especially growing up.

"Obviously you can’t be the exact same player but a lot of the things he brought to the game, I’ve always wanted to bring to my game.

"Seeing him in training and it was great chatting to him briefly, asking him a few little things, trying to get the odd golden nugget out of him.

"Hearing him speak on his time and us asking him different questions about his game and the different teams he was part of was excellent."

Deegan made his return to Leinster colours against Munster, having captained Emerging Ireland to victory in South Africa.

The three-match tour came in for criticism over its timing but Deegan found it extremely beneficial and believes it will aid his attempts to become a first-team regular with his province.

"It was a great experience over in South Africa," said the 26-year-old. "I got a real sense of being in a starting team consistently, and also that element of leadership was really good for me.

"I came back with a lot of confidence after working with Simon [Easterby], Paulie [Paul O'Connell] and Fogs [John Fogarty].

"It was nice to change up environments, see different perspectives on the game. I’ve come back with a lot of