Jack Carty is keen to start a new chapter of his career by earning "quality" gametime during this Six Nations.
When Carty was called up by Ireland boss Andy Farrell for the final November clash with Argentina, it was his first involvement at Test level since the squad returned from the World Cup two years earlier.
That start against Japan has hung over him, despite the lack of blame attached to the Connacht out-half for the surprise pool defeat in Shizuoka that underlined that the rot had set in as the Joe Schmidt era reached a disappointing end.
Restored to Ireland's Six Nations squad for the first time since 2019, Carty doesn't feel he has a point to prove.
"I don't think so, definitely not to myself anyway," said Carty.
At the same time, he believes that if things go his way - and it will be tough to get game time with Johnny Sexton and Joey Carbery named as the other two out-halves - then he hopes that it will shut the door on the past, to some extent at least.
"It would be nice, I suppose," said the 29-year-old.
"Maybe the narrative up until now has probably been since the World Cup and it would be nice to maybe close that chapter if I get on the field.
"It has been a long journey up and down.
"Every player in their career goes through periods of non-selection and I think it's about how you learn from that.
"I think I've learned a lot about myself and my team-mates have learned a lot about me.
"It's great to be back in the set-up and hopefully the next couple of weeks are good to me.
“I’d like to get quality game time and, I suppose, be comfortable in the environment, which I have been so far.
"I’d like to think that if I do get the opportunity to get game time I’ll add to the team.
“I think getting an understanding of what we’re trying to do in attack especially is the biggest thing for me at the moment."
Asked if he feels he has been hard done by in terms of his Test exile since Japan and up to two months ago, Carty replied: "Not necessarily. I suppose we can talk about the last two years and move on from it then.
"Initially, when I did come back from the World Cup, my form wasn't good enough to warrant selection.
"In Connacht, Conor Fitz (Fitzgerald) was playing incredible rugby. When I came back, it was well documented that I said I was nearly trying too hard.
"I came from the World Cup and maybe saw myself as second-choice and wanted to really kick on and maybe forced things on my end. As a 10, if you look to force things, you're going to be in trouble.
"It wasn't until I stopped worrying about it and got back to what I had to do daily, weekly, monthly, that I was able to slowly get back to where I am now.
"That being said, I'm still not where I want to be. I'm going to worry about the end goal when that comes about.
"Previously I was so hell-bent on getting to that end goal, that maybe off the field I was probably a disaster to be around at times.
"When I play best I have a smile on my face.
"If I can set up things off the field to be in a place where it needs to be, it enables me to excel and do what I want to on the pitch.
"I think when I was playing rugby for many years I probably looked like I had the weight of the world on my shoulders, but now I really enjoy what I'm doing, I'm enjoying this environment, it's been brilliant.
"There are similarities, but I'd like to think there's a lot more enjoyment in it for me (compared to 2019).
"What has helped me, the way we're trying to play in Connacht and the way Ireland play, there's some similarities.
"It's been nice that I've had to evolve as a player from what I've maybe done previously up until this season.
"At the start of the season, I was a bit wary about how it was going to go for me but credit has to go to (Connacht coaching team) Mossy, Collie, Pete and Friendy in terms of how they went about that change in me and then the way we were playing as a team."
Carty believes that the Connacht captaincy has pushed his game on to a new level and he was been impressive throughout this season for the province.
Carbery hasn't played since early December after undergoing elbow surgery, and Carty admits that he is eager to push for gameday involvement in this championship having had to bide his time.
"That's what we're all striving for," he said.
"Johnny has been there, done that, and he's captain so I think if and when he is fit, he'll be starting.
"For me, I've said before that it's about if the opportunity is there, I need to have the confidence and authority around me that Johnny gives.
"That will give confidence then to all the other players.
"I'm a lot more mindful of what I say to the players, I'm a lot more prepared in different aspects in terms of messaging through the week.
"Previously, that was maybe a thing where it would have been thought of on the spot and my messaging wouldn't have been as accurate to the players around me.
"In Connacht we have key principles of what we're trying to do, whereas maybe previously if things weren't going the way I wanted them to, I maybe had nothing to fall back on to go back to what we were doing.
"Now we have that. It's very simple for me in attack with those principles, especially around squareness. That coupled with the preparation throughout the week has probably pushed me in terms of the leadership and performance part.
"From what I gather, Johnny's the same personality, leading by example. I think that the way that he speaks is definitely something that I’ll take back in terms of how I do it in Connacht.
"You can see that when he speaks he’s obviously prepared what he’s talking about but then also his ability to communicate a message on the spot is incredibly accurate.
“So that’s definitely something I’ll be speaking to him about, to see how he goes about that.”
