Lions elevation has helped Jack Conan quieten the noise

He didn’t expect to be in the squad, so much so that he hardly bothered cocking an ear to the TV when it was being announced, but an impressive display in the opener against Japan in Murrayfield made him realise that a Test place was within reach

Leinster’s Jack Conan started all three Lions Tests against South Africa. ‘I feel a bit vindicated after playing so much and playing such a part in it all.”  Picture: Seb Daly/Sportsfile

It’s four years since Jack Conan scanned the horizon of another dawning campaign and declared that his time to be patient was over.

He was 25 then and three years into his senior career with Leinster, but there had been whispers of a switch to Ulster or a move abroad. If injuries had held him back then it was a career-ending problem for Jamie Heaslip that really opened the door for him at the time.