Caolin Blade is hoping to cut a swathe through the likely lads jostling for the scrum-half slot as Conor Murray roars with the Lions this summer.

Murray’s return to pre-eminence has both confirmed his status within the Irish squad but also prompted another chance for Andy Farrell to re-shuffle his options while he is absent.

Jamison Gibson-Park would seem to be the obvious beneficiary given his senior status; for many, Craig Casey reflects the more exciting option.

Connacht man Blade will be hoping to inconvenience the running order; with such formerly established players like Kieran Marmion, Luke McGrath and John Cooney not amongst this summer’s squad, significant strides can be made by a bolter.

The uncapped Monivea man is primed to pounce in a position long on alternatives to Murray but short of convincing ones.

"Even in this Irish set-up it is extremely competitive but each province has their own," says Blade. "You need to have two top 9s in a 23 anymore because I think the days of a scrum-half playing 80 minutes is long gone.

"You need a 20- or 30-minute scrum-half off the bench every game. The provinces have adapted to that and a lot of credit goes to the academies. They are bringing through a lot of homegrown talent. Irish rugby in the sense of scrum-halves is in a good place.

"For me, these two games are a good starting point. Jamison had a good Six Nations campaign but it all starts here in training and trying to get your foot in the door. While Conor is away with the Lions there is definitely an opportunity here for the three of us to take our chance and take it well."

Had his sporting life veered in a different direction, Galway GAA maestros Shane O’Neill or Pádraic Joyce might have been barking out the instructions instead of Farrell this summer.

"I tried to play GAA as much as I could," said the Athenry Vocational School alumnus, one good enough to also hurl against Limerick for the Galway U16s.

"But I had to stop it at 19 because rugby was getting a bit more serious. When I got into the Connacht sub-academy I had to make a decision.

"I knew I could have a future in this but I still miss the GAA a lot."

And he also could have pulled the strings as a three-quarters rather than providing the silver platter service for them.

"I played as an out-half and as a 13 for Monivea Juniors. It wasn’t really until I went to dual status with Monivea and Galwegians seniors that I switched," he said.

"I was actually playing scrum-half with Galwegians and 13 with Monivea, usually on a Saturday with ‘Wens and a Sunday with Monivea.

"It would have been quite late and I suppose that’s why I’ve had to work so hard. I don’t think it came exactly naturally to me because I didn’t have the game awareness and skllls straight away.

"That’s why I felt I had to work extra hard because if you look at the lads who had started at scrum-half when they were 12 or 13 they had a six or seven-year head start on me."

Which probably explains why, at 27, he is such a late bloomer at this exalted level. And also why, although he seeks inspiration from his peers, he doesn’t style himself on them.

"I always really looked at Kieran Marmion in Connacht because he was the closest thing. That was the level I had to get to," he said.

"I’ve had extremely good coaches who have helped me along the way. I‘ve had to develop my own style. It’s taken me a while. I feel like I’m getting there but I wouldn’t say I’m there yet."

The next month promises to take him that little bit closer.