Wallace glad to be back

Ireland flanker David Wallace is hoping to make a big impact against Italy.

Wallace won the last of his 22 caps seven months ago, and his international future looked bleak when coach Eddie O'Sullivan overlooked him for the autumn internationals.

O'Sullivan justified his decision on the grounds that Wallace was not a regular fixture in the Munster team.

But the 29-year-old earned his recall with some strong performances in the Heineken Cup, and on Saturday will pull on the Irish jersey in the Six Nations for the first time since 2002.

"It's been a difficult couple of years in terms of form and selection," admitted Wallace.

"While I never gave up hope of getting back into the Ireland team, I knew it would take a lot of hard work to do that.

"Now I feel like I'm back to where I was when I started playing for Ireland, but maybe with a little bit more experience under my belt.

"The support for my recall has been great but you can become distracted by people saying you should be in when really you should be asking why aren't you being selected."

Wallace believes he has improved during his spell away from the international arena, in particular by refining his technique at the breakdown.

"I knew I needed to work on my skills at the breakdown. Getting a few of the things right there helped in other areas. But I've tried to improve my all round game, not just at the breakdown," he said.

"There are so many good back rows at Munster. Sometimes you look at it and think it's a hard position to be in.

"But when you do make it, it's quite an accomplishment. That gives you a little bit of extra confidence when you're out on the pitch."