Craig Gilroy determined to make most of his 11th hour call-up

Craig Gilroy may have been a late addition to Ireland’s passenger list for South Africa but the Ulster wing is determined to ensure there is no hint of a wasted journey over the next three weeks.

The 25-year-old from Belfast was one of a quartet also including Matt Healy, Ian Madigan and Tiernan O’Halloran to get the call from Joe Schmidt eight days ago to replace the injured Luke Fitzgerald, Dave Kearney, Johnny Sexton and Rob Kearney on the plane for Cape Town. Now Gilroy now has a shot at a first Test appearance since winning his sixth Ireland cap against Georgia in November 2014.

“Everyone wants to have played more, but the competition in my position is vast and you just to have to be that little better, have those one-per-centers (individual actions during a game) to play international rugby for Ireland,” Gilroy said.