WHEN RYAN BAIRD checked his phone on Friday, a message from an old mentor struck a chord.

Nerves had been kicking in when Andy Skehan, his schoolboy coach, touched base. The content of the text was simple. “You only get your first cap once so enjoy it and take it all in,” Skehan wrote.

It changed the debutant’s mood. Until then, he was busily swotting up on every detail, obsessing about processes and game-plans. Post the Skehan text, he settled down. “Something I kept saying to myself even in the warm-up, was that it’s just another game of rugby,” Baird said. “You’ve just got to boil it back to what it was and treat it like that. Obviously there was a bit more to it with it being my first cap and all that but when I got on the pitch it was like, ‘right, this is what you do. So do it again’.”

He delivered a decent shift. Then again, almost everyone did. It’s one of the luxuries of playing Italy. Nonetheless even though this match won’t be remembered by many – in fact plenty of viewers have probably forgotten the details already – for Baird and Craig Casey, it’ll be stored in the memory bank forever.

“It was such an experience and I was just soaking it all up there in the changing-room,” Baird said. “I’ll remember this day for a long time to come.”

He and Casey have come up through the system together, starting off with Ireland’s U18 side, then at later representative age groups. “We stood beside each other for the anthems just like I did with him in Wales when I made my debut for the (Ireland) 20s,” Baird said. “So, it was really special, I really enjoyed making my debut with him.”

Craig Casey comes on for his debut. Tommy Dickson / INPHO Tommy Dickson / INPHO / INPHO

Yesterday was spent catching up and getting back to all the people who’d messaged him during the week. Players, by and large, steer clear of social media during match weeks – so phones get stored away and messages often go unanswered.

Come yesterday evening his mobile was hopping. So many questions. What was it like? Was it much of a step-up?

“International rugby, you never get a chance to take a breath. There is always something to do, always something to be dealing with, somewhere to go. At this level, as I found out, it is a different step up and I just loved it. Every single second of it. I went out with the mindset to be myself, to bring intent and a big attitude to the game, to try to impose myself in the way I normally do.”

He should have had this experience last autumn but injury got in the way of those plans. Yet it never bothered him. “If I thought too far ahead or started dreaming about what could have been I probably wouldn’t have been playing here today,” Baird said. “So I was really happy with how I put myself forward. I worked incredibly hard to get here. My family have been a huge help. They have given me so much help and criticism. Everyone has helped so much.”