An evening with Rhys: Proud days in Limerick, Ireland ambitions and settling in back home

'I did want to play for Ireland. I went over with the idea and unfortunately with injury and selection I just fell off the radar.'

ENJOYING LIFE: Rhys Marshall during the Guinness PRO14 match between Munster and Zebre at Thomond Park. Photo: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile

It has been one of those days for Rhys Marshall.

The clutch on his father’s tractor on the family’s sheep and beef farm north of New Plymouth on New Zealand’s west coast has given up the ghost and the former Munster hooker has one of those Bronco fitness tests looming as he switches gears for pre-season training with Waikato.