Antoine Frisch has sights set on Irish jersey

French-born Munster centre Antoine Frisch has made no secret of the fact that his goal is to turn out on the international arena in the Irish jersey.

Frisch joined Munster from Bristol Bears this year and qualifies for Ireland through a maternal grandmother.

“I’m not shying away from the fact that I came here with ambitions to try and play for Ireland. But you’ve got to focus on the team and the process and doing the job for the team,” Frisch said.

Frisch, who toured South Africa recently, with the Ireland A side, is eyeing this weekend’s derby with Munster as a golden opportunity for him to give of his best.

“Yeah, obviously it’s huge. Every year it’s massive and I just remember when I was younger, watching those games, huge rivalry between the two and Munster were winning and Leinster sort of took the upper hand, so yeah it will be a big game at home and obviously it’s just a huge classic in the rugby world.

“So if I’m a part of it, it will be really special for me. I’ve always dreamt of playing in games like that, it’s why I came here.”

“So it’s really simple, just go out there and perform as best as you can and I think if you do that then the rest takes care of itself. It’s in the back of your mind but you don’t think about it too much at the moment. Looking forward to it, anyways.”

Prior to his stint with Bristol, Frisch plied his trade with Pro D2 side Rouen and he feels that the variety on his CV hitherto is of significant benefit to him.

“I’ve seen different styles and it has helped me to have a better understanding of what a team needs and just playing in the right areas of the field.

“For example at Bristol there was a big emphasis on holding the ball and putting teams under pressure through your shape and your attack, and I improved massively from that point of view last year.

“So it definitely gives me a better knowledge of rugby and understanding what a team needs. I’m just using my ability to bring that to the team and it’s good, it’s definitely a plus in my game,” he added.