My Life in Rugby: David Wallace – Lions, Ireland and Munster flanker

In the build-up to the 2009 Grand Slam we had a camp before the tournament just after Munster had played the All Blacks in a tour game – and  Rob Kearney stood up and said that we all needed to be able to play with the same passion in an Irish jersey.
Brian O’Driscoll spoke as well, telling us he’d had enough years without winning anything on the international stage and it kind of built from there.
It was a meeting of minds and in Declan Kidney we had someone who was able to keep the expectations down.
The night before the final game in Cardiff was pretty tense, and after everything it was agony standing there helpless when Stephen Jones lined up that final kick. I remember going absolutely mad at Geordan Murphy who caught it and started running around and we were screaming at him to kick it out.
There was a huge celebration after that, and Cardiff ended up being quite a happy hunting ground for me.
Growing up I obviously was surrounded by rugby with my brothers Richard and Paul both playing, and it was pretty special that we all ended up going on Lions tours.
I got my first big break when I was playing for Garryowen and got called into Ireland’s development tour to New Zealand in 1997 while the Lions were in South Africa. Off the back of that I got an Irish contract and all three of us brothers went away the following year with Ireland. We never actually got to all play together in a Test, but I played with both of them so that was very special.
Even though I was in the Irish squad from 1997, I had to wait until 2000 to actually get my first cap. I’d had a good season with Munster, we got to the Heineken Cup final having gone down to beat Toulouse in France in the semi-final.
That was the first time we had won in France, but unfortunately we didn’t really cope with the enormity of the occasion against Northampton in the final.
From there I went with Ireland to Argentina and it was a relief to get that first cap because I’d started to wonder whether it would actually happen for me.
The next year I got injured at the wrong time and wasn’t originally picked for the Lions squad to Australia in 2001. I was pretty disappointed not to make it, but I was called up when Lawrence Dallaglio got injured.
He was the first person to greet me out there and it was pretty special to find myself alongside a lot of that great England team. I’d followed how they were getting on so it was good to be out there with them, though  we couldn’t match my brother Paul and get the win out there.
I then had a bit of a tough run with injuries and found myself in and out of the international set-up. In 2003 before the World Cup I’d injured my shoulder and that ended up costing me a couple of seasons, one while I got over the injury and most of the rest to recover from the muscle wastage. When I got back into the team it was almost a case of third-time lucky, and I was able to establish myself a bit more.
The Six Nations in 2007 was a huge event for us, with the move to Croke Park.
I remember preparing for the first game against France and I saw that their kick-offs pretty much always came to where I stood. I knew that the first kick in Croke Park would probably come to me, and sure enough on the day it did, but luckily I held on to it. That game I thought we were going to win it, but then Vincent Clerc popped up at the end to score that try.
The England game was an even bigger occasion, it really felt like we had the whole nation behind us, it became about more than just rugby. It clicked for us that day and we even had the icing on the cake when Isaac Boss scored with pretty much his first touch.
That year we could have won the Championship, but for a last-minute try in Paris from Elvis Vermeulen which cost us the title on points difference.
Unfortunately by the time we got to the World Cup, we were in a pretty low place; the feeling wasn’t great in the camp. To be honest we were lucky to beat Georgia before we lost to France and Argentina.
A year earlier we’d finally got our first Heineken Cup win for Munster against Biarritz in Cardiff. The overriding feeling after that was one of relief rather than celebration. That was the difference a couple of years later when we beat Toulouse, we were able to enjoy it a bit more, and as someone who had always looked up to Toulouse it was special to do it against them.
In 2009 I got picked for my second Lions tour, and regardless of the result, it was great to get picked for the Test team. I know that was one of Richard’s regrets that he went to New Zealand but didn’t play a Test.
Two years later I felt I was in good shape heading into the 2011 World Cup, but I got the knee injury that ended up finishing my career when I was tackled by Manu Tuilagi. I pretty much knew as soon as it happened that it was likely to be a career-ender.
I did manage to get out and play a couple more games a year later, and was lucky enough to be able to finish at Thomond Park against Ulster.
Since retiring I’ve taken a step back from rugby. By the end of my career I’d stopped enjoying watching rugby, but having had a break I’ve been able to enjoy it more.