Jack Carty joined Monday's OTB AM to discuss Connacht's big win over Leinster on Saturday and his ambitions of returning to the Ireland squad.
The 35-24 victory over Leinster was Connacht's first win in Dublin since 2002 and Carty played a starring role, scoring 25 points, the highest tally scored by one player against Leinster in the professional era.
"Two years ago, we probably had a similar enough performance and we came out the wrong side of it," Carty explained.
"We’re absolutely delighted with the win. Leinster are the best team in Europe so it was great for us to prove ourselves against them."
Carty explained that he is "confident" in his form and with where he is at the moment but he's also not getting too far ahead of himself.
"The recent Racing game and the game on Saturday were probably two of my best performances," he said.
"I’m confident in where I am at the moment but I'm not getting too far ahead of myself. If things happen in terms of Irish selection then great, but if not, we in Connacht have a massive opportunity to get into a final if we win this week."
The out-half has not played for Ireland since the 2019 World Cup. While clearly eager to play again, Carty is taking a somewhat philosophical approach.
"If there was an Irish squad named tomorrow and I wasn’t in it, I think I would be ok with that because my performances of late have been good. If it was a case that my performances were bad then I would be disappointed in the fact that I wasn’t picked but also in the fact that I wasn’t playing well," he explained.
"The selection is out of your control in many ways, the only thing you can control is your own performance.
"I know if I continue to play well then I will get rewarded. I’m just happy with the way that I am playing. It’s enjoyable playing rugby with Connacht at the moment and I think that’s the most important thing for me.
"Hopefully in January or February something will come along but if it doesn’t then I will keep ploughing away and hopefully we can win something here in Connacht."
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