London Irish skipper Connor O'Shea has vowed to win his international place back when Ireland tour Argentina this summer.
As he prepared to lead his club side into the Tetley's Bitter Cup semi-final clash with Northampton, O'Shea admitted that it had been a hard year for him after being dropped following the thrashing by England in the opening game of the Lloyds TSB Six Nations Championship.
But in typical fashion he refused to agree that his career at the highest level was over and backed himself to claim his place. "It has been really hard, but to see the way Ireland have played lately is a real pleasure," said O'Shea. "If you ask me whether or not I would have preferred to play in a losing Irish team or be on the outside and watching a winning one, then I would take a winning side every time.
"After the England game there were always going to be casualties and I didn't have a very good day. But you also have to hand the credit to England because they were truly awesome against us. We got things wrong but there has been a lot of hard work done by everybody in the Irish team and they are now playing some great rugby. I would love to be involved again and I still believe that I can be."
O'Shea goes into his second Cup semi-final on Saturday knowing that it will be a great opportunity for him to show Ireland coach Warren Gatland that he still has the credentials to reclaim his place in the national side. "It is a big stage to perform on and I hope that we can get it right," said O'Shea. "I have kept in touch regularly with Warren and the rest of the team and I know that I am still in their plans.
"They didn't play me in the `A' game because there wasn't much point. But Warren has often spoken to me and kept me informed about how they are looking at things. This is the chance for me to show that I am playing well again and that I am capable of playing for Ireland. It is my passion to play for my country and the absolute highlight of my career. I certainly have no intention of writing it off yet and as far as I am concerned, I still have an international future".