Ian Madigan: Ulster fly-half sets sights on working himself back into Ireland contention
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Madigan is hopeful that by playing well with Ulster he can reignite his international career
Ulster fly-half Ian Madigan says he is under no illusions over how much work is required before he is considered for Ireland selection, but admits that returning to the international fold is his "number one goal".
The Dubliner won the last of his 30 international caps in 2016 before leaving Ireland for Bordeaux.
After three seasons with Bristol, the 30-year-old has returned to Ireland in the hope that he can reignite his international career by impressing with his new club.
Last week, Ireland head coach Andy Farrell restated that the door would remain open for Madigan provided he was playing within Ireland.
"It was a serious boost for Andy Farrell to give me a shout-out considering I haven't played a whole lot in the last 12 months," said Madigan.
"Coming back and being able to play for one of the Irish provinces, and having playing for Ireland as one of my main goals, has really focused me with my training and given me something to aim at.
"I'm under no illusions that I've got to really prove myself and that starts here with Ulster.
"Working my way into the 23, if that means coming off the bench and playing well in games and then being patient to then get a start, and playing well when I do, and it kind of goes from there.
"If you're playing well for any of the Irish provinces I think you deserve the opportunity to be in the mix for national selection but there's a lot of rugby to be played on my part for that to happen."
Madigan last played for Ireland against France in the 2016 Six Nations
After three campaigns with Bristol, Madigan decided it was time to return to Ireland in order to fulfil his ambition of once again pulling on the green jersey.
Aided by a number of familiar faces, the fly-half says the transition into life at Ulster has been smooth.
"I felt if I left it any longer, the ship would definitely have sailed for me to potentially get back into an Irish set-up," he said.
"After two or three days here I felt like I had been here for six months, it was a pretty straightforward move back.
'Myself and Billy can both shine'
Ulster's number 10 jersey is currently held by Billy Burns, who has established himself as the first choice fly-half since arriving from Gloucester in 2018.
An impressive first half of the 2019-20 season saw Burns included in Ireland's Six Nations squad, although he did not feature in any of the three rounds before the tournament was suspended.
Ulster face two Pro14 inter-provincial fixtures before a potential semi-final and final before their attentions turn to the European quarter-final against Toulouse.
Regardless of how far Ulster can progress in Europe, the turnaround before the scheduled beginning of the 2020-21 campaign will be brief, with Madigan suggesting that both he and Burns will be given the chance to shine as a result of the truncated schedule.
"Billy has been great the last two years, I'm under no illusions that I've got to really prove myself to get in ahead of him," said Madigan.
"That's something that motivates me massively and I'm sure it's going to drive his game on as well.
Burns was rewarded for an impressive run of form with inclusion in Ireland's Six Nations panel
"That's what we want, he plays well one week, if I get an opportunity and play well the following week we're on a rotation as opposed to having one guy getting run into the ground playing five, six, seven games in a row then losing form or getting a knock.
"You want to keep the momentum in the season going, with the schedule that we have coming up. You need to have competition, at least two guys in each spot to be able to rotate.
"Otherwise you'll just run yourself into the ground and if that happens it's very easy to lose three, four, five games in a row.
"That's something that I think they've got right here now. When we're going 15 on 15 with mixed teams it's really competitive and that's what we need."