Stuart McCloskey must have feared that he was going to be one of only two squad players not to make an appearance at the Rugby World Cup, but an injury to Robbie Henshaw meant that he was named on the bench for the victory over Scotland.
An injury to Mack Hansen saw him see plenty of minutes in the game, and to the surprise of nobody he slotted in seamlessly to the side.
Despite McCloskey's relative lack of Ireland caps, given his talent, his class has never been doubted, due to his form for Ulster where he has consistently been one of their top performers.
McCloskey has admitted, however, that in the years since his first cap 2016, where he struggled to get a look in to Ireland squads, he considered calling time on his international career.
It was frustrating and it wasn’t.
I always look back to what it was before last summer and I wasn’t involved at all and I was thinking about calling it a day with Ireland stuff and I came back in, played a load of games and finally became a part of the team I thought, so it’s nice.
Stuart McCloskey Makes Interesting Revelation About Ireland Career
7 October 2023; Stuart McCloskey of Ireland with his newborn son Kasper after his side's victory in the 2023 Rugby World Cup Pool B match between Ireland and Scotland at the Stade de France in Paris, France. Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile
READ HERE: Pundits And Coach Ponder Why Stuart McCloskey Has So Few Irish Caps
“My goal was to get to a World Cup and I made that and whatever happens from now I’m fine with it," he added.
“I know if you put me on the field I will perform well, but if it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen. I’m not going to sit in the shadows and be angry about it.”
McCloskey had to ask for special permission to leave the Ireland squad for the birth of his son Kaspar. And despite being a mere ten days old, he was at the Stade de France supporting his Dad.
“I’d say you’ll look at those pictures in 20-odd years and it will be pretty cool. He was fast asleep, he seemed all right
“I got home last Monday and my wife gave birth on the Tuesday. It worked out really well and then I was obviously back into the camp at the end of the week, and it was an unfortunate injury to get me in, but it’s been a brilliant week.”
SEE ALSO: How The World Rugby Media Reacted To Ireland's Demolition Of Scotland
