Red-hot Larmour back in blue and relishing Leinster competition

After a stunning debut year on the frontline for Ireland and Leinster, Jordan Larmour admits that the battle to reestablish himself in the pecking order is "tough".

Bursting on to the scene under Joe Schmidt, Larmour's pace and ability to evade tackles marked him out as special.

Now 24, the Dubliner played made his international debut in the successful 2018 Six Nations and made nine appearances in that year, featuring in wins over Australia and New Zealand.

That season he started in both the Champions Cup and Pro14 final wins over Racing 92 and Scarlets respectively.

Larmour accrued 30 caps in the meantime but his most recent involvement with Andy Farrell's Ireland came in last summer's Test against Japan, and even after recovering from a hip injury and starring in the URC win over Munster, was unable to force his way back into the match-day 23 for the Champions Cup final against La Rochelle.

Various injuries and the form of his rivals have meant Larmour has had to get the head down and work his way back up the order.

"Professional sport is hard, everyone wants to play at the top level," he told RTÉ Sport two days after helping himself to a brace in the 76-14 thrashing of Glasgow.

"That's why the competition is so hard and it's important that we have that competition to drive each other forward.

"It's been tough. At the start of the season I got a few injuries and then a run of games, picked up another injury so it's been a stop-start season for me.

"That's why I'm trying to train well and bring that into games.

"It's tough, especially at the top end when everybody wants to put up their hand and everyone wants to be playing those big games.

"There is a lot of competition but I think that's important in terms of self-growth as