'An absolute joy': Jack Conan ecstatic with Ireland return after 'miserable road' back from injury

A foot injury cut short Conan’s World Cup after one game and kept him sidelined until last August, only for a neck injury to send him back to the treatment room in late October

Ireland's Jack Conan in action against Italy. Picture: INPHO/Tommy Dickson

His introduction to the action in Rome was almost an afterthought as the spotlight focused on fellow replacements Craig Casey and Ryan Baird. Yet for all the excitement centred on that pair of debutants, it was arguably Jack Conan who made the brightest impact for Ireland.

The trio had been sent in on 63 minutes, into a game with a bonus point already secure but unravelling amidst a stream of penalties and Italian yellow cards.