Andrew Conway yearns to take Munster form to Ireland

Andrew Conway was regarded one of the country’s finest ever schoolboy players and a star of the future when he left Blackrock College in 2009 with Leinster Schools Senior and Junior Cup medals among his possessions.

In August of that year, he joined the Leinster academy, 12 months later he was on a full contract, by 2012 he was a Heineken Cup player and in 2013 he scored a hat-trick of tries against Ospreys as he helped his native province to success in the Amlin Challenge Cup. By that stage, however, Conway also felt the need for a change of scenery and opted to move to Munster, believing regular shows in the red jersey would help his prospects for elevation to the highest levels of the game, a privilege not always on offer while wearing the blue of Leinster. Although he has pulled on the green Ireland shirt at schools and U20, he still has to achieve his ultimate ambition.

In fairness, this is due more to the quality of the other wingers in Irish rugby than any shortcomings on Conway’s part, and at 23 he still has time on his side. A series of fine performances established him as a first-choice wing with Munster and recently he came in as a replacement for the Irish Wolfhounds against the English Saxons, so he is obviously on Joe Schmidt’s radar.