Having got a taste for Test rugby in recent weeks, Munster's Oli Jager is keen to get back out on to the pitch and catch the eye.
The 28-year-old, who returned to Ireland from New Zealand in December when he completed a move from the Crusaders to Munster, is one of three players from the Irish squad to be released back to the province for tomorrow's trip to the Scarlets.
Jager was initially called up as a supplemental "training panelist" for the warm-weather camp in Portugal, but was brought back into the squad last week as cover for the injured Tadhg Furlong.
And after getting to look under the bonnet of how Andy Farrell's squad works, the tighthead prop insists the best way to get into contention for a first cap is through his provincial form.
"I'm champing at the bit for it," he says, ahead of Friday's trip to Llanelli.
Since arriving in December, the prop's gametime has been stuttered. His first couple of appearances came off the bench as he was being drip-fed into the squad, before a concussion in the New Year's Day defeat to Connacht saw him miss the Champions Cup win in Toulon.
His involvement with the Ireland squad in Portugal also saw him miss out on gametime with Munster, when they took on his former side Crusaders in Cork at the start of the month.
And with his move from Christchurch to Limerick happening so suddenly before Christmas, Jager (below) says he's looking forward to the normality of some week-on-week rugby.
"I can't wait to get back out there and play. That's what we do, and do for a living, the quicker I can get on the field, the better. I'm excited.
"It's been obviously difficult to settle in a little bit but it’s all sorted out now. I’ve got my wife here now and we’ve got a house so everything has kind of settled down and ready to go so I finally feel like I’m home.
"I definitely am looking forward to getting my feet on the ground and playing some rugby and going with the flow.
"It's has been a bit of an accelerated introduction into Irish rugby again, but it's been fantastic.
"I wouldn't have changed anything from what I've done before to now, I've loved every minute of it. I'm just looking forward to getting on the field and playing some rugby."
Having come close to an All-Black call-up during his decade in New Zealand, he now looks set to be an Ireland international in the near future.
And he says getting a taste for how Andy Farrell's squad operates has only made his appetite bigger.
"It was unreal, it was unreal to be part of that squad and just in the mix of it, seeing how they train and the intensity they're at.
"It was good as well to see the other boys and meet new people. It was awesome, I had a really good time helping them prepare for the games, and then Portugal was obviously lovely with the sun, while old Storm Isha was blasting around here. It was nice to get out of that!
"I had a fantastic time, it was intense but enjoyable.
"There is definitely a lot to take on, and when you have a bit of experience, luckily like I have, it all ends up being the same things. Of course people have different ways of playing, but in essence rugby is just 'Carry the ball forward', and, 'If someone runs at you with the ball, tackle them'. If you break it down to what it is on the smallest level, it all kind of fits in pretty easy, and you just build from that.
"I've had the taste for the environment, and the way they do things, the next step is I want to play a game for them. We just have to take it one step at a time, but it would be absolutely awesome," he added.
With question marks over Furlong's fitness levels, after he missed the Guinness Six Nations win against Italy last week, Jager's first cap may not be too far away.
And he says the feedback from Farrell as the squad broke up last week was simple.
"I kind of just have to keep being me, keep playing the way I am, and just getting back on the field.
"Just really throw myself out there and do what I can for the team but nothing [no feedback] in particular, no.
"Obviously I think they were pushing me to do some things in training, and stuff like that, and trying to see how I go, and it’s just a matter of trying to bring that into my game. So I don’t think they necessarily have to tell me what I need to do but I have a feeling of what they would like to see."
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