SIX NATIONS: John O'Sullivan talks to Keith Wood about his journey back from injury and his thoughts on the task facing Ireland against France on Saturday

No more prowling the team hotel, the frustration of being sidelined occasionally seeping through in his body language. Keith Wood looked a contented figure as he faced the media, the knowledge that he would once again don the green jersey, at the Stade de France in Paris on Saturday, a blessed relief for a player who confesses to being "an appallingly poor watcher" of rugby matches.

Happily restored to something approximating rude good health if not ideal match fitness, the Harlequins hooker sifted through his thoughts on an extended spell on the sidelines.

"It was very frustrating at the start with the first couple of (international) matches because I just presumed the injury would resolve itself.

"At the time I said I was a very quick healer and I would be back in within two-and-a-half to three weeks without a bother. That would be the norm for a calf injury but I seemed to have one that was that little bit worse than initially anticipated. I thought I'd be back for a couple of important 'Quins matches even prior to the start of the Six Nations.

"As it turned out it was bad, got worse and then I had to go onto crutches. Trying to get as fit as possible to get back in, my back just scuppered me a couple of weeks ago. I got a little bit sick around Christmas time and was laid low for about three weeks, so I did absolutely nothing.

"After that I was trying to run in the pool and work on the bike. Eventually the medical opinion suggested I do absolutely nothing because of the nature of the injury. From then on all I was doing was upper-body weights. I'm not much of a gym man, I found it boring."

So with just a couple of outings for Harlequins, he now faces into a titanic tussle with a French team chasing a Grand Slam in front of a partisan sell-out crowd. No worries there then.

"I would be in okay shape. I played a couple of weeks ago and my back just flared up. There is no way I would have been up to playing an international.

"I felt a lot better (last) Saturday than I felt two weeks previously. It wasn't Roy of the Rovers if that's what you're asking but I did fine."

Wood feels Ireland haven't received the credit they warranted for three home wins in the Six Nations set against a backdrop of rebuilding.

"As soon as Eddie (O'Sullivan) took over we had to make a lot of changes and there were a lot of changes to be made to go towards the future. We're in the middle of that and having said that, to be in the middle of a rebuilding phase and winning your home matches is pretty good."

Ireland's captain will not be fazed by the Paris cauldron, although he espouses the French renaissance under coach Bernard Laporte. "I'm not apprehensive. I'm going to go out and play as hard as I possibly can for as long as I can and I don't know how long that will last. Ideally it would last for 80 minutes.

"I think France have shown that they have rediscovered some of the spirit they used to have before. I think Laporte has done a fantastic job, tightened up the discipline of the French side magnificently. Their Achilles' heel over the years was that they would give away penalties or get someone sinbinned or sent off.

"He (Laporte) has come down unbelievably hard on that, tidied that up totally which in a way stunted some of their natural flair. But now that they have that base of discipline, the flair has been added on top."

With that he had satisfied the plethora of television and radio demands, three minutes here, five minutes there. Far from being a chore, one senses that he was glad to be back.