Ryan Baird: Fishing, Wimbledon and the Paul O'Connell details

As Ryan Baird sits down to speak to a handful of writers, he seems slightly on edge.

A bit fidgety, a bit distracted. Is everything OK?

"I'm great, yeah!" he reassures us.

"Out of the ice bath so shivering with the cold, but it’s good."

How long was he in it for? "Ten minutes," he adds through chattering teeth.

In a World Cup camp, there’s a huge emphasis placed on recovery, whether it’s ice baths on their non-training days, or the compression socks that every other player seems to be wearing as they walk around the High Performance Centre at the Sport Ireland Campus.

"The big ones for me are eating well, sleeping well and then hydrating. If I can do those three, then anything after that is considered a bonus in my eyes."

Given the intensity of life in World Cup camp, mental recovery is just as important as the physical recovery. This week, the Irish squad have broken up to go wherever they please. Training programmes will still have to be completed, but on their own time.

For Baird, mental recovery comes when he is outdoors. Golf features among the list of hobbies, as it does with a lot of players. Playing off a handicap of eight, he’s more than an occasional hacker.

His face lights up when he talks about his other way of switching off.

"I love fishing," the Dubliner adds.

"It’s very therapeutic, fishing, because you’re out there and you don’t know when you’re going to get a hit, and you might not get a hit, so it teaches you a great level of discipline and patience.

"Then if it’s a good day it’s calm, still, you can hear the birds around you and just chill out.

"It’s very nice. A lot of the time I’d just go by myself. It’s very relaxing. I feel very present when I’m there.

"My dad brought me on my 12th birthday down in Wexford,