Bent right at home in scrum

Michael Bent knew his place in the Ireland squad was a bone of contention before he even touched down in the country of his ancestors.

Checking through the border formalities at Dublin Airport as an Irish citizen will have helped to soothe any anxieties about accusations of Plastic Paddery but if the tight head prop from Taranaki, New Zealand had any fears about being accepted they were quickly alleviated by both his new team-mates and the general public.

Bent, 26, added an Irish Test cap to his long-held passport on Saturday night with an impressive nine-minute cameo off the replacements’ bench against South Africa as he won a penalty for Ireland at his very first scrum. It certainly helped to quieten any criticism of the way he had been parachuted into the squad by Declan Kidney at the expense of homegrown props.

“I knew there were a few mixed opinions out there and I respect that,” Bent said yesterday. “People are entitled to have their own opinion. But for me, I was coming into the team, I was asked if I wanted to be part of it and having Irish heritage which I’m very proud of, it was certainly something I was never going to turn down.

“I was absolutely stoked to be a part of it and I didn’t really read too much about what was going around in the media. I’ve been out and about a wee bit and anyone I’ve bumped into in the public, and had a chat to, they’ve all been really positive and made me feel welcome. So I’ve felt really good about being a part of it.”

As for that penalty, earned at the expense of his soon-to-be Leinster team-mate Heinke van der Merwe, the former Hurricane said it felt: “Pretty good. Everyone here’s been really welcoming and I already felt part of the team but at any stage out on the field when something goes well and you’ve got guys patting you on the back, it always feels great and it’s one of those moments when something goes well in the game. I was just stoked to be there.”

If Bent’s place in the squad had been questioned, his place on the bench had been fully earned with his showing at the Ireland training camp, said Ireland assistant coach Anthony Foley.

“During the week, on Tuesday I think, we had a good scrummaging session on the training pitch. From that, we’ve had no problems. He went on to the pitch and everyone had full confidence that he could do a job.

“He’s now an international player, an international tight head and he’s obviously got the backing of everyone within the squad in terms of what he did.

“But we had already known going into the game what he was capable of doing, so it was probably not a surprise to us.”

Bent admitted his international debut for Ireland at a near-full Aviva Stadium had been preceded by “a lot of nerves”.

“It was obviously a very big moment. Building up to the game I tried to go through my process, but I was obviously a lot more nervous than I would have been for other matches. Being out there in front of all those people and being part of the team and with the national anthem and everything, it was a really enjoyable moment and obviously something I am never going to forget.

“I tried not to let it play too much on my mind as far as playing goes. I just went out there and just wanted to play my usual game.

“With scrummaging and all the rest of it you’ve just got to go out there and set up as I normally would and go through it the same as I normally would. Obviously I wouldn’t try and change too much.”

Scrummaging, he said, is “a part of my game I put a lot of emphasis on.

“As a prop you’ve got to scrum first and do that well, and then you can concentrate on the other aspects of the game. So it’s always something I work very hard on, and try to do very well in the game.”