No regrets as Downey takes the road less travelled back to Thomond

THE old adage is that good things come to those who wait, and in the case of Northampton Saints’ Irish centre James Downey that phrase could hardly be more apt.

Spend time with the 28-year-old and he can barely contain his excitement ahead of tomorrow’s winner-takes-all Heineken Cup clash with Munster at Thomond Park .

This, after all, is a man who freely admits he is surprised he’s not coaching youth rugby by now after a career that seemed to have petered out at 24. Looking back, Downey smiles broadly at the memory; having quit Leinster after realising he was never going to make it as a centre in a side that contained Brian O’Driscoll and Gordon D’Arcy, he was released by Connacht and seemed to be at a dead end.