22-year-old Connacht back Byron Ralston has reiterated his desire to represent Ireland, saying that pulling on the green jersey would be "sick".
Signed at the beginning of this season from the Western Force, the already Irish qualified centre/wing has amassed 12 appearances for his province, with eight starts.
Ralston is a former Junior Wallabies squad member, and like his teammates Mack Hansen and Bundee Aki, he would have once harboured ambitions to represent his home country at senior level.
However, his prospects and path in life have now changed, and he is relishing the challenge of forcing his way into contention for Ireland, among what is a deep and stacked player pool.
I think for any professional rugby player who has the potential opportunity to represent their country at international level, it’s definitely a driving factor," said Ralston in an interview with RugbyPass.
I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t want to represent Ireland at the international stage.
I went to the Ireland versus Wallabies Test match at the Aviva in the Autumn Nations (Series), and even through speaking to Mack… you can just see the passion and how fruitful the rugby is over here through the fans.
Connacht Utility Back Byron Ralston Wants Ireland Caps
17 September 2022; Irish rugby : Byron Ralston of Connacht during the United Rugby Championship match between Ulster and Connacht at Kingspan Stadium in Belfast. Photo by David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile
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“So to say I didn’t think about that in my decision making, I’d be lying to you. But certainly I do know there’s a lot of hard work in between that has to be done before that’s attainable.
“To play for Ireland, to put it in pretty plain words, it’d be sick.”
Connacht currently lie in eighth spot in the URC, and face Edinburgh on 25 March, before continuing their Challenge Cup campaign against Benetton in the round of 16.
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