RYAN BAIRD went driving after Ireland got knocked out of the World Cup.

When it came to dealing with the disappointment of the quarter-final defeat to New Zealand, the Leinster star found the best course of action was to hit the road — and the golf courses.

Along with his golden retriever Mackenzie, Baird travelled around the north of Ireland in a camper van and sampled some of the finest fairways this island has to offer.

Having found the initial few days after the All Blacks game tough, he felt the trip was just the tonic before his return to Leinster duty.

The versatile 24-year-old said: “We lost on the Saturday, got home on the Monday and from then until Thursday was quite tough.

“The thought of playing rugby again was quite tough because you’ve given so much emotionally.

“Physically the body is fine but emotionally you’ve given so much to that tournament.

“I knew I’d have eight days off and once I left Dublin, I got a bit more grounded into what I actually had. I was incredibly grateful for having my dog with me and I was fully healthy. I wasn’t injured after the World Cup.

“You start to appreciate those things more and then you realise that you’re a person first, not a rugby player first.

“We picked the camper van up in Antrim. Then we went up to Royal Portrush. I played and then my friend came up.

“At the time it was raining in all of Ireland but for some reason Northern Ireland didn’t have rain for five or six days and I was up there for that amount of time.

“I had these crisp mornings, complete sun the whole time.

“Playing Portrush, Portstewart, played St Pat’s up in Rosapenna. Some of the best courses of Ireland in perfect weather.

“I went fishing as well, so it was actually incredible.”

It was soon back to the blue jersey, though, and after going three points clear at the top of the URC table with a dramatic win over Connacht in Galway at the weekend, Leinster will now turn their attention to the European Champions Cup over the next fortnight.

Before they welcome Sale Sharks to the RDS on Saturday week, they visit defending champions and modern-day arch rivals La Rochelle on Sunday afternoon.

Ronan O’Gara’s Top 14 outfit have been an Achilles heel for Leinster in recent seasons, with their back-to-back Champions Cup final triumphs in 2022 and 2023 preceded by a semi-final success over Leo Cullen’s men in 2021.

Leinster supporters will be hopeful that the arrival of Jacques Nienaber as the province’s senior coach can offer them an extra edge when it comes to both the business end of the competition and this weekend’s high-profile opener.

INSTANT IMPACT

The World Cup-winning defence specialist was on match duty for the first time last Saturday and the South African has already left a strong impression on Baird, who played the full 80 minutes of that inter-provincial clash.

Baird added: “I really like his energy, the way he carries himself. He’s incredibly well prepared. He already knows our system in terms of the language.

“For me, I love his defensive system. It’s leaning towards my athletic ability to be able to accelerate off the line, but do it repeatedly.

“I think it really suits us to be using our athleticism to fly off the line, but with control and put teams under pressure.”