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.