Off the beach and off the bench for Niall Scannell

Here he was, coming on as a replacement against the Maori All Blacks, less than three days after he had had sand between his toes on Portugal’s Algarve

BACK IN GREEN: Niall Scannell (left) and fellow Ireland players Finlay Bealham and Jack Conan leave the pitch after the match between the Maori All Blacks and Ireland at the FMG Stadium in Hamilton, New Zealand. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

Wearing borrowed boots and a smile as broad as the nearby Waikato river, Niall Scannell was finding it a little difficult to comprehend the journey he had just completed, both literal and metaphorical.

Three years had passed since the Munster hooker had last set foot in an Ireland training camp and here he was, coming on as a replacement on the New Zealand tour against the Maori All Blacks in Hamilton on Wednesday, less than three days after he had had sand between his toes on Portugal’s Algarve.