ROSS BYRNE WILL be hoping it’s a case of 11th time lucky this weekend.

The out-half has made 10 previous appearances off the bench in the Guinness Six Nations, but Johnny Sexton’s leg injury could see him handed his first tournament start in Saturday’s game against Italy in Rome.

It wasn’t long ago that the prospect of starting a Six Nations game seemed unlikely, even to Byrne himself, and he admits that it wasn’t always easy to stay patient while he waited and hoped for his turn to come again.

“Before I got the call in November, there were definitely times I thought I’d never get back in,” he said of his time out of the international spotlight, which ended with an unexpected recall and then the winning penalty in Ireland’s Autumn Nations Series victory over Australia.

“You just have to be patient, which isn’t always easy. Hopefully when you do get an opportunity you just have to make the most of it.

“I’m absolutely loving being back. The last two performances, you can see how they’ve been, and you can see there’s a lot more room for growth which is hugely exciting.”

Sitting beside Byrne at today’s press conference in the IRFU’s High Performance Centre, Dan Sheehan waxed lyrical about his Leinster team-mate, and also expressed his belief that Byrne had been subject to some harsh criticism within media circles.

“Over the last few years I’ve probably played most of my rugby under Ross at 10,” said Sheehan.

“I think probably the media were harsh on him over the last few years because what I saw inside the doors of Leinster and Ireland was someone who is calm and can make plays happen.

“Everyone I think is really comfortable with him on both teams.

I think he has everything in the locker. His game control and his ability to see space and managing the pack around him – I think most good 10s have it and Ross definitely has it.

“I’ve always found it comfortable playing with Ross. I was glad to see him coming back into the squad.”

It can be difficult for professional sports stars in the modern age to ignore what is being said and written about them, but it nevertheless isn’t something that Byrne is overly concerned about.

“I don’t really read too much into the media. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I’ve just been looking after myself. I can’t control what the media says. For me, it’s just been looking after my own performances.”

While there have been a number of excellent displays in the Irish team during the opening two rounds of the Six Nations, one player who has caught the eye of Byrne is another of his provincial compatriots. After opening the scoring in the Welsh game with a second-minute try, Caelan Doris went on to deliver a player of the match performance in Ireland’s 32-19 win over France a week later.

Having seen his progress from an Academy hopeful to a fully-formed international, Byrne isn’t the least bit surprised to see the Mayo native prospering to such an enormous extent in the Irish back-row.

“He’s been brilliant. Everyone has seen it, but we probably see it in training every day and his performances over the last number of years have probably been pretty close to the level they’re at.

“It’s the work he puts in throughout the week. That’s what we see and everyone else probably doesn’t. It’s not happening by accident.”