Tomás O'Leary hopes that tonight's historic Munster rugby clash at Páirc Ui Chaoimh is just the first of many games for the province at the Cork city venue.
The former Cork minor hurler and Munster scrum-half thinks that the visit of South Africa A sends out a strong message that old attitudes to 'foreign games' have changed.
"I grew up obsessed with multiple sports but GAA was the heartbeat of my family household," he told 2fm's Game On.
"All I wanted to do was emulate my father [All-Ireland winning hurler Seánie] and wear the blood and bandage of Cork. Thankfully I got to represent Cork, train and play in Páirc Ui Chaiomh multiple times, and with with my club Erin’s Own.
"It’s a historic stadium and it’s great for the people of Cork – two sporting worlds colliding. It’s brilliant that we can go out and support our province in our local stadium.
"The GAA is still the heartbeat of Ireland but by having these events I think it illustrates how far the organisation has come."
O'Leary is hopeful the occasion can help to better promote rugby in the county, given Munster play the majority of their games in Limerick's Thomond Park, and that it might pave the way for high-profile European or URC interpros to be played further south.
"It’s a reward for the fans that have had to travel a lot to Limerick, a nod to the importance of Cork to Munster rugby," he said.
"Hopefully it’s the first of many big fixtures. If you have a big team coming to town and you have the potential to get an extra 12/13,000 into a stadium it would be a shame not to.
"Especially, the Leinster fixture in the league at Christmas time. You would fill Páirc Ui Chaoimh and make it a real festive occasion. Cork GAA is in need of money so I think it would benefit both parties.
"It’s going to be a unique occasion and great for the kids that they can go down to a traditional hurling and football stronghold and see their heroes playing against an international team.
"Hopefully that will inspire potential stars of the future to stick with the game or take it up."
On Saturday, Ireland will take on Fiji in Dublin in the second game of their Autumn Nations Series.
Tadhg Furlong will captain Ireland for the first time in Jonathan Sexton's absence and O'Leary believes the prop is "a natural choice".
"He's been a mainstay of the Leinster and Ireland teams since he broke on to the scene.
"Nothing seems to faze him. I don’t think it will overshadow his role as a player and in the scrum.
"Naturally the goalkickers will be making those choices as to whether they want a shot at goal or to kick to the corner.
"You’ll talk to your pack when you’re making those decisions… it’s very much a collective. Tadhg is experienced enough at this stage, and you would anticipate that this Irish team would be backing themselves against Fiji, going to the corner a lot and trying to get as many setpiece tries as possible.
"He leads by example physically and he has a skillset as well to back that up.
"It’s going to be a proud day for him and his family."
