THE STADIO OLIMPICO holds special memories for Ryan Baird. It was in Rome two years ago, almost to the day, where the Leinster player made his Test debut, replacing Iain Henderson for the final 17 minutes of a 48-10 Six Nations win.

He’s added another seven caps in the two years since. Tomorrow against Italy he is set to win cap nine off the bench, in what will be his first apperance since the reverse fixture in Dublin 12 months ago.

An ambitious, confident player, Baird has had to be patient for his chances in green.

The 23-year-old featured twice off the bench against the Maori All Blacks last summer but missed the November internationals through injury, following a heavy collision against the Sharks in October.

Having sat out the opening two Six Nations wins against Wales and France, he’s keen to make the most of this opportunity.

“I was playing well, I was very happy with my performances but the standard gets even higher here. Selection is one thing and then playing is another,” Baird says.

“Once you get selected, you’ve got to play well, but if you don’t you just have to improve.

“There’s so many other lads in my position who want to play, but you have to realise that to win a match like France or Wales, it’s going to take the whole squad.

“While you’re not playing at the weekend, you still have such a great opportunity on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday to practise things in training because we are all on about habits here a lot.

Baird featured twice against the Maori All Blacks last summer.

“Paulie (O’Connell) would drive that and the only way to create a habit is through repetition, so I use, and we all use, training as that platform to do that.

“We have specific goals and objectives that we want to instill in ourselves throughout training and then you’ve got to think long-term that I’m doing this for the betterment of future Ryan Baird. Not just thinking short-term like ‘What am I going to do this week?’”

Baird was disappointed not to get a shot earlier in the campaign, but conscious of ensuring those frustrations didn’t affect him negatively in camp.

“I guess I look for feedback. You know, where can I go? What can I do? And then you get a clearer picture of what it is.

“But then after that, it’s understanding what your objective is and trying not to let something external affect your focus. So for me, preparing on selection day, preparing myself mentally if I don’t get selected, it’s not going to affect how I approach the rest of the day. I’m still going to get what I need to get out of that day.

“So, for a lot of us, or for me anyway, I plan my evening the day before. That’s my objective for that next day and try not to let things sidetrack me.

Obviously we are humans, your emotions come into play. It’s a lot easier said than done, but I guess if you have that kind of focus, that kind of north star of where I am trying to get to, it’s easier to put stuff aside because you know where you want to go.”

Like many of his Ireland teammates, Baird has found performance coach Gary Keegan to be a good sounding board. 

“He’s phenomenal,” Baird continues.

“The work he does with all of us is great. And then, just being curious about it I guess. It’s something I am interested in. So always understanding different approaches.

“For me, the big thing it comes down to is like, it’s easy to do it one day, be mindful, be present, do your meditation, do your journaling – whereas the benefits come from if you can consistently do it over 50, 60, 100 days.

“If you can do something consistently for over a year, then it turns into a habit. That 10,000 rep rule, you can put that into any context.

“For me, can I challenge myself to consistently, let’s say for example, meditate for a consistent amount of days, or can I consistently journal the night before, plan my day, because that’s where I find the most benefit.

“Gary will always say that nine-tenths of high performance is preparation, so the more you prepare, the less surprises you can face.

When you get out onto the pitch, you see the pictures before they happen. You have an idea of what you’re expecting, so when something does go wrong it’s just that one thing you’re worried about; you’re not worried about loads of stuff that’s happened previously, or what could happen, because you’re so prepared.”

Even for those who haven’t been involved across the opening two fixtures, camp can be an intense experience. 

Last weekend’s break week provided a welcome opportunity to unwind and switch off from those mental pressures, with rugby far from the only interest in Baird’s life. 

“I love golf. Golf is amazing, just go out there and get competitive with myself or someone around me. I love watching Netflix, Full Swing came out and I’ve watched the eight episodes already. Break Point was on.

I love food, cooking at home is a big thing for me. Food is a huge passion of mine. I tried to make sourdough bread at the weekend and failed miserably, but I’ll try to get better at that.

“Fishing is a big one of mine. Not so much in the winter because it’s so cold, but I do love fishing. I love nature and getting out in the open air, so when you’re fishing you’re out there, I bring my dog with me.

“The silence, it’s peaceful, I bring my dog with me and maybe get a little adrenaline hit if you catch something, if being the big word there.

“In here, it’s very high performance and you’re very switched on, but I’ve always had the ability to just switch off and go into chill-out mode, be with my friends and stuff, and just be a normal 23 year old.”

The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!