RUGBY INTERVIEW JOHN FOGARTY:JOHN FOGARTY is doing the rounds. Three years with Munster, five seasons with Connacht and now pitched up in Leinster, he may be 30 but, as his cv demonstrates, he is ambitious and can draw inspiration from a predecessor in his position at Leinster

"What age was Shane Byrne when he won his first cap?" he asks, with an ever ready smile. Right enough, Byrne was a month shy of his 30th birthday when he won his first cap in Bucharest against Romania, and went on to play for Ireland 40 times.

Fogarty could also cite the examples of both Jerry Flannery and Bernard Jackman, whose stints with Connacht not only kept their professional careers afloat but saw them scale upwards, with each returning to Munster and Leinster before breaking into the Irish team.

Right now, Fogarty admits he's in a good place.

Rejuvenated by the move, he says he feels like he's 24 again, and rather than look too far ahead he's determinedly enjoying the moment, and with good reason.

His wife Sinead is due to give birth to their first child any day now and in only his second appearance for Leinster last Friday he made an eye-catching impact off the bench when galloping in gleefully for his first try with his new province.

"The last try I scored was from a maul against Ulster about 27 metres out, and I was so knackered I fell over the line. It was nice to get a free run to the line," he says, laughing, and admitting that the move had actually been devised at training by Jackman earlier in the week.

Fogarty won't say a bad word about Connacht, with whom he played 110 games in the Magners League or Challenge Cup.

"I had great years at Connacht, and I have to say I learnt my trade at Connacht. I was involved with the Irish A side with Connacht, and I am here because of Connacht. They gave me my chance."

They lost more matches than they won, and generally only won if everything went right, particularly the setpieces, so he studiously analysed his own games and how he matched up in his own one-on-ones. It was an invaluable learning curve.

But he came to Leinster to be training and playing around fully fledged internationals, which is another reason why he daren't look too far ahead.

"I'm literally thinking about this game against the Ospreys and how I train during the week. You have to be on your game and sharp every day, from Monday to Thursday, and wherever that takes me, let's see how it goes.

" Cheika is very technical and the guys he's brought in around him are quite technical. Gaffney's always on to us about our hands, and was at Munster when I was there, about how we use our hands and body shape and so forth. They're all the little details that can improve your game."

His younger brother, Denis - a star turn with Ireland's under-20s in the World Cup three years ago - is with Munster; the younger siblings having taken their cue from older brother Damien.

"He was probably the most talented and skilful player of the lot of us, and it's his fault we play hooker. He played there for Cashel and I said "well, I must be a hooker 'cos he's a hooker, and Denis followed suit."

Steeped in Munster red, all the brothers were sent to Rockwell in part because of the school's rugby tradition. Damien was born in Limerick, John and his sister Niamh in Cork, and Denis in Tipperary, where their parents hail from.

Their father, Denis senior, who sadly passed away last year, played with Cashel RFC - as did their uncles - and was involved in Dolphin, while his mother's family, O'Connors, were also steeped in the game, with Shannon and other clubs. "My dad loved rugby and was a huge part of our rugby lives, and he would have been delighted with the move I've made. He was a good reader of the game. He was an outhalf, and I think he was a bit gutted we all played hooker."

Needless to say, Fogarty has been on the receiving end of plenty of texts about his new allegiance. "There's been great ribbing, and I'll happily take it to be where I am. I've bucket loads of cousins and they're all from Cashel, where Denis Leamy is the hero. There's going to be a statue of him one day in Cashel. I'll switch the phone off next week before the Munster game, and if it goes well I'll switch it back on."

DOB:October 18th, 1977

Birthplace:Cork

Height:1.78 m (5' 10")

Weight:102 kg (16 st 0 lb)

Position:Hooker

School:Rockwell College

Club:Clontarf FC

Honours:Ireland 'A' captain.

Provinces:Munster (2000-03), Connacht (03'08) 110 appearances (83 in the Magners League and 27 in the European Challenge Cup) and Leinster.