Back in Ireland frame, Harry Byrne buries Bilbao pain

Tom Hooper did his best sales pitch to line up against Ireland for the sold out July 4 Test at Allianz Stadium

Harry Byrne wants to be more than a tourist during Ireland's Nations Championship campaign. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

It wasn’t long ago that Harry Byrne thought his days in green were done after a brief stint in England.

The Leinster out-half might have even thought they were done after copping a giant whack in Bilbao last month, as Bordeaux ran amok against Leo Cullen’s side, with Springboks guru Jacques Nienaber in the coach’s box no less, to leave them feeling blue in the face.