Donncha O’Callaghan still has a burning desire to prove himself and Wales coach Warren Gatland is among those he is determined to make a point to.
The Munster second row will win his 60th cap against Wales on Saturday and has won numerous international and provincial honours in his career to date.
But Gatland headed this summer's Lions tour and his decision to leave O’Callaghan out of the squad for the second and third Tests still rankles with the Corkman.
He told RTÉ Sport’s Michael Corcoran: 'For me personally, the (Lions) tour didn’t go quite as well as I would have liked. You would like to show these guys that they were wrong in some of their selections. At 60 caps you are still trying to prove stuff.’
And while there has been talk of the Welsh coaching set-up’s inside knowledge of Irish players after the tour to South Africa, O'Callaghan revealed that this factor will cut both ways.
He said: ‘I know personally that they like to keep the ball in play an awful lot. They believe that if they keep the ball in play for longer than 40 minutes in the whole game that they will come out on top.
‘That really tests your fitness and your mental edge. To keep going and keeping reloading in defence and keep showing in attack. It’s something we’re quite proud to do as well. I think we have a very fit team and if it suits them, it suits us.’
Ireland will have a clear advantage in terms of experience on Saturday and much of the attention will focus on Brian O’Driscoll. The captain is set to reach his 100th cap and O'Callaghan also revealed his huge admiration for O'Driscoll.
He said: ‘He leads from the front. Everything he says he is going to do himself as well which makes him a great fella to follow. He doesn’t just talk for the sake of it, he puts his body on the line.
‘Some of the bangs and knocks he takes are incredible. Even last week (against England) he was as sick as a dog but he still fronted up for us and put in a massive performance. I can’t speak highly enough about him.’
