As the 2024/25 season eventually wound down, it was remarked that Ryan Baird was probably the one person who didn't want it to end.
The versatile Leinster forward hit arguably the best form of his career in the URC run-in where he was named player of the match in both the semi-final against Glasgow and final against Bulls.
While he was only used off the bench when the province were stunned in the Champions Cup semi-final by Northampton Saints, the Croke Park final was his fifth start in a row at 6 in the URC, allowing the 6ft 6in forward to really find his stride.
The 26-year-old hadn’t done quite enough to break into the British and Irish Lions reckoning so went as a senior player on Ireland’s summer tour of Georgia and Portugal where he was again deployed on the blindside for both matches.
The quality of opposition has to be taken into account but a scrappy Georgia outfit didn’t make life easy in difficult conditions and Baird stood up and was counted, winning 11 Ireland lineouts and stealing two.
While there was a subdued start to the start of this season as Leinster struggled in South Africa, he still went 80 minutes in his three outings before last weekend's defeat to New Zealand, where he packed down at 6 for the seventh time in his 10 Ireland starts.
In the race to claim the place left by Peter O’Mahony’s retirement, it’s Baird who now finds himself in pole position.
He faces competition from the likes of Cian Prendergast, Nick Timoney, Cormac Izuchukwu and Tom Ahern, who have their own designs, while Jack Conan still has plenty to offer and will fight for a starting shirt when Caelan Doris, assured of the number 8 position, is fit.
Admittedly, the dynamic is further complicated by the fact that Tadhg Beirne, named again at lock, is also a guaranteed starter and can easily pack down in the back row, as he did for all three Lions Tests to great effect.
With lock Joe McCarthy missing through injury, it's a choice Andy Farrell doesn’t have to make this November, but it does mean that this window is a great opportunity for Baird to lay down a marker after starting just one of his four Six Nations games this spring – the win over England.
Farrell has rewarded Baird's consistency with another start, his fourth in a row, against Japan.
He reckons the former St Michael’s College pupil, similar to a bulked-up Jack Crowley, has been hard at it in the gym over the summer.
"He seems to have really matured, not just within his game, but within his health," said the head coach on Thursday.
"He's put on quite a bit of weight.
"And obviously, he's made that decision and feels good with that. I think he was weighing in at about 120kg or whatever.
"So there's a real plan, a real determination that's gone into his preparation to start the season off well. And he's certainly done that.
"He's young enough, isn't he, as far as international caps are concerned, so he gets to go again this weekend."
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Alongside Stuart McCloskey, Baird was Ireland's best performer in Chicago, with his ability to spoil the Kiwi throw getting his team out of trouble on more than one occasion.
He made 12 tackles, had seven carries and claimed five throws.
However, an overall lineout return of just 11 from 16, at 69%, was never going to cut it against New Zealand, especially as it’s a source of attack that Ireland heavily rely on. It misfired on several levels with three stolen, one handling error, and one not straight.
The first, in particular, looked awful.
"It's like we panicked and went into triple movement," said Bernard Jackman on the RTÉ Rugby podcast.
"[The All Blacks] didn't buy our dummies at the front. It became an absolute clusterflip."
It’s an area that Farrell’s side, with assistant Paul O’Connell calling the shots, have struggled with since before the World Cup, albeit they returned a 91% rate in the victorious 2024 Six Nations.
Baird's athleticism marks him out and fans love to see his rangy runs, but if he could lead a reliable lineout, a la Devin Toner, Donnacha Ryan or like O’Connell himself, it would go a long way to assuring more game time.
"The lineout is just a game of chess," the Dubliner, who has won 30 Ireland caps since his debut in 2021, said earlier this year.
"You’re looking at body language, different entries whether you’re running in at speed or not and trying to catch the opposition off guard.
"They’re fun. Anytime we’re doing lineouts in training, I just have a smile on my face because it’s like psychological warfare out there."
It’s unthinkable that Japan would cause Ireland similar problems to last weekend but the visits of Australia and South Africa in the next two weeks will provide real tests and allow him to stamp authority on the role.
O’Mahony’s replacement won’t be like for like.
It’s well-established that the Munster man was the last of a dying breed but Baird has the power and physique to forge his own path and become as indispensable as the old dog was.
If he can reproduce his form of the last six months on Saturday and the following two Tests, it will be his jersey to lose.
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