Ross Byrne: 'I'm not trying to do anything too different'

Ross Byrne says he's taking every appearance in his stride, ahead of what could be his first Guinness Six Nations start this Saturday against Italy.

The Leinster out-half will likely be handed the 10 jersey if Johnny Sexton fails to recover from the groin injury he suffered against France in Round 2; the captain didn't train with the squad at the IRFU High Performance Centre in Abbotstown on Tuesday.

All but two of Byrne's 16 Irish caps have come from the bench, with both his starts being against England at Twickenham, the first of those being a chastening World Cup warm-up defeat in 2019, before another loss in the Autumn Nations Cup of 2020.

Should he be included from the start against Italy in Rome on Saturday, it would be his first time starting a Six Nations game for Ireland, but the 27-year-old says he won't be sucked in by the occasion.

"It would be big but I'll just treat it like I normally would," he said.

"I’ve played a lot of games this year and I am pretty happy with how that has gone and my preparation. I won’t be doing anything too different."

Byrne has been in impressive form for both Leinster and Ireland this season, coming off the bench in the opening two rounds of the Six Nations, and excelled in his 30-minute cameo against France, replacing the injured Sexton to steer Ireland to a bonus-point win.

"We won, so that's obviously the most important thing. I was delighted to get the game time, get the win and the bonus point. It sets us up well for the next few weeks.

However the out-half says his apparent improved form has been blown slightly out of proportion.

"Look it’s just little bits and pieces. It hasn’t been one big change. Over the last couple of years I’ve played a lot of games as well. Some of them have