Tadhg Beirne has revealed that he was asked about playing for Wales when he was with the Scarlets.
But the Munster star insists his mind was already made up to come home and fight for Ireland recognition by the time Wayne Pivac made the pitch.
At the time, World Rugby's residency rule was still three years and Beirne had resurrected and rejuvenated his career with a two-year stint in Llanelli after he was released by Leinster.
Pivac, who was then the Scarlets' director of rugby, wanted the Kildare man to extend his stay, but Beirne's success for the region had put him on Joe Schmidt's radar and he joined Munster in the summer of 2018.
Beirne, speaking in Quinta do Lago ahead of Ireland's Six Nations opener in Cardiff on Saturday, said that returning Wales boss Warren Gatland never made an approach to get him to stay in the Welsh system.
“I only ever wanted to play for Ireland, that was the reality," said the 31-year-old.
"And when it became a talking point that there was an opportunity to play for Ireland, the only thing I wanted to do was come back and play for Ireland.
“So I didn’t have a conversation with Warren but I did have a conversation with Wayne before I left Scarlets and he tried to encourage me to stay because he did say the World Cup was the following year and I’d be qualified for it and all that.
"But I think I’d made my decision before that, that I wanted to wear green for the World Cup not to be in red.
“So it didn’t really cross my mind too much to be honest because I wanted to play in green. If I felt I didn’t have a chance maybe it would have been a different conversation.”
Beirne did go to the 2019 World Cup with Ireland, but it wasn't until Schmidt left the hot-seat after the finals and Andy Farrell took charge that the versatile lock and back row blossomed at Test level.
Having been in and out of the side under Schmidt, Beirne is now an integral part of Farrell's team and he can't wait to get back to the Principality Stadium - to where his in-laws will make the trip from the Bridgend area for Saturday's game.
It is a special fixture for Beirne. "Of course," he said.
"My wife is Welsh, her whole family are Welsh so I’m over and back to Wales every so often.
"I had a brilliant time over there and a lot of people I know I’ll come up against, a few lads I played with, so it’s a cool fixture to get to play in.
“Like I said, my wife might be Welsh but she’ll be wearing green on Saturday.”
Ireland's Six Nations record in Cardiff has not been good of late - it is a decade since they last won there - and Beirne more than anyone understands why the Welsh players come together as such a cohesive team unit even when their club sides are not performing well.
“I learned that they’re incredibly passionate about the Welsh flag, and the actual Welsh team," he remarked.
"Watching those lads head off, they’d be very excited heading away and they were very passionate about playing for their country.
"You get to see that first hand how much it means to them, they show that at times, especially when they’re at home, how much playing for Wales means to them.”
Beirne warned there is "going to be a reaction" with Gatland returning as Pivac's replacement and he points to the Principality atmosphere playing a big part for the hosts.
"We’ve spoken about that this week, about how big an occasion it can be, not to be shocked by the noise, by the intensity that they can bring from being on at home," he said.
"That’s on us, to deal with those pressures. In the past, in the last couple of times I’ve played there, my first cap in the Six Nations was there and unfortunately it didn’t go particularly well, they ended up winning a Grand Slam in the last game of the season.
"That was my first experience of it and it really shocked me in terms of noise level, just the intensity of the game.
“So it’s important that, for anyone who hasn’t played there before, we make them aware of how intense this game will be and how good Wales can be at home. If we can go in ready and prepared for that then I think we’ll be in a very good place."
Beirne added: "I think they’re going to try to be physical. I can imagine that they’re planning on being direct.
"I know Gats has said that’s part of the plan, to come at us physically because I think they think they can get an upper hand on us there.
"We’ll be expecting that and we’ll certainly be ready for it and looking to get one up on them."
Certainly, Beirne stressed, the World Cup in September can wait.
“It’s a Six Nations and every Six Nations you go in with the intention of winning it - and that’s exactly what we’ve set our goal to do," he said.
"In terms of looking any further ahead, we haven’t because if we can build over the next eight weeks then come the summer we can look at the World Cup and continue to build on what we’ve done.
"We’re ranked number one in the world so no matter who we come up against, we have a target on our back. If we were playing the number one team, it would be the same thing, we’d want the scalp off them.
"It’s pretty exciting in my opinion and I look forward to the challenge. to being able to put our best foot forward and hopefully maintain that number one spot."
*EDWIN Edogbo has signed a senior contract with Munster as the province confirmed that John Ryan will return from the Chiefs next season.
Ireland hooker Niall Scannell and his brother Rory have also agreed two year contract extensions with the Reds.
Edogbo, 20, has made a big impact in the back row this term, is set to continue as an academy player next season before moving up to the senior squad ahead of the 2024/25 campaign on a two-year deal.
Tighthead prop Ryan, meanwhile, will return in the summer on a one year deal, having turned down a Munster contract offered before Christmas to take up a short-term deal with the Chiefs in New Zealand, where the 34-year-old is in line to play Super Rugby.
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