New dawns for early riser Jack Conan ahead of Leinster season opener

Jack Conan was always an early riser but since becoming a father over the summer, the Leinster forward has had to readjust his body clock.

The 32-year-old Ireland number 8 opted out of the July tour to South Africa as he and wife Ali awaited their new arrival.

Daughter Remi was born two days before Ireland faced the Springboks in the first Test in July and since then he's had to deal with new dawns.

"I’m trying to find the balance of it all," Conan tells RTÉ Sport. "My one big thing at the moment is I love being really early to things.

"I love being here [at Leinster] at seven o’clock in the morning and sitting around, having coffee, doing my rehab.

"So I’m still trying to find my feet with the morning schedule of having a baby and helping out my wife before I get going.

"Some days I can be a little bit on edge first thing in the morning trying to get in here nice and early. I’m still learning."

It’s a huge adjustment for any new parent but professional sportspeople are conditioned to reach peak performance via regimented training schedules and the all-important down-time.

"It’s great when you go home, you can kind of park rugby a bit more and not worry about training as much and reviewing things," adds the Lions back row.

"I try to pick that up on the day off than doing it on the evening time, which I previously would have done.

"It makes you realise what’s important in life, you go home and make sure you are present and conscious of how you are around family.

"It’s been great, I’m loving it, my wife’s been fantastic, she’s been calm and patient and that’s helped me to be calm and patient with it all.

"We are learning together, and we are slowly getting there. We feel like we are doing an all right job. Definitely life is very