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Ian Madigan: Watching Leinster left me numb

Fly-half Ian Madigan has said that watching Leinster left him 'numb' following his departure from...



Ian Madigan: Watching Leinster...
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Ian Madigan: Watching Leinster left me numb

Fly-half Ian Madigan has said that watching Leinster left him 'numb' following his departure from the province in 2016.

Madigan was speaking to Eoin and Ger on OTB AM, saying that he feels 'happiness' watching the Ireland and Leinster teams succeeding, but that this wasn't always the case.

"It was tough initially, when you are first away from the Leinster team and the Ireland team. You're looking in and you are just used to being a part of that. You are just watching it and feeling a bit numb, I suppose.

"You are certainly not cheering the other team on or anything like that. But then as time goes on... I'm still a big Leinster supporter - I grew up supporting the team - and, obviously, I'm still passionate about Ireland.

"So I watch the games, cheer the guys on, text the lads before the games wishing them luck. It's great to see Ireland and Leinster getting the success they did this year - it was well-deserved.

Even though Madigan recently signed a new long-term deal with Bristol, he cannot rule out returning to Irish shores to improve his chances of a return to Joe Schmidt's national setup.

 

"Ultimately, that's over to me. I need to be playing really, really well for [the provinces] to be looking at me going 'We need that guy on our team'.

"I've had a long road over the last three years that has been pretty frustrating to me. I had a year after the World Cup where Johnny was back at Leinster, and I was mainly sitting on the bench. Then I went to France, and the majority of that year was pretty frustrating - particularly once I'd announced mid-season that I was going to be moving on. I was very much pushed to the side then, and then a year in the championship as well.

"I have been sitting on that for the past three years, and I'm now in a situation where I've got a great coach in a really good team. It's just about taking that opportunity and playing as best as you can."

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