Andrew Smith wasn’t sure how to react when he was first approached about joining the Ireland sevens squad last year.

n the one hand, it was a chance to enhance his skill-set and get regular game-time, but, on the other, Smith knew there were risks attached to spending less time in the Leinster set-up.

As a back-three player making his way in the ultra-competitive Leinster Academy, he feared he could be out of sight and out of mind, but Smith didn’t have to look too far around the senior dressing room to see the platform sevens can provide.

Granted, not everyone reaches the heights that Hugo Keenan, Will Connors and Jimmy O’Brien have done by playing with Ireland in recent years, yet Smith felt reassured that the Leinster coaches would be keeping a close eye on his progress.

Having made his first two appearances for Leinster last season, you can understand Smith’s dilemma. But with the added incentive of featuring at next week’s Sevens World Cup in Cape Town, the former Senior Cup winner with St Michael’s decided to roll the dice.

“For me personally, it was about my injury profile,” Smith tells the Irish Independent. “My first year in the academy, I was injured quite a bit, so I wasn’t playing much rugby. I had four soft-tissue tears. Sevens has such high running metres, everyone thought it would be best for my body that I get used to those. I’ve never really looked back.

“You may think you are missing out on a lot of opportunities with Leinster, but when you see what the other lads have done, you can take a lot of reassurance from it – where they’ve come from and where they’ve got to. It’s nice to have them to look up to.

“It definitely takes time to get your head around but I have come to realise that not everyone’s pathway is the same. In that regard, I’m not really too worried anymore. I’m just focusing on what I can control.

“You have to stay hopeful that the Leinster coaches are seeing the work you are doing here. It’s about displaying that when you come back into the Leinster environment, show everything you have learned – you haven’t just been away from the programme, you have actually been developing as a player.

“Like I said, I was nervy enough when I first joined the programme but chatting to Hugo especially, he gave me reassurance about how good the programme actually is. Seeing what he has gone on to do this year speaks volumes.”

Lining out for the Ireland U-20s and with Clontarf in the Energia All-Ireland League, Smith began to earn a reputation as a youngster with a penchant for scoring acrobatic tries.

The 22-year-old also played Gaelic football with Clanna Gael Fontenoy, as the sporting gene runs strong in the family.

Smith’s grand-uncle Liam O’Neill, who although was part of a Galway team that lost three All-Ireland finals in four years during the 1970s, won six Connacht titles and an All-Star, while his son Kevin lost two All-Ireland finals with Mayo, but won five provincial titles and an All-Star in his first year at senior inter-county level.

“I was quite young when Kevin was playing, so I didn’t get to as many games as I’d like, but from what I’ve read up on and watched, he seemed like a serious footballer,” Smith says.

The Ireland squad arrived in Cape Town on Wednesday, as preparations ramp up for the start of the World Cup on Friday – when James Topping’s men take on Portugal for a place in the round of 16 against England.

Smith has excelled in his short time on the World Series, and with his parents Bernard and Clodagh due to arrive in South Africa, he is relishing the chance to make an impression.

“They kept it hush-hush but I eventually had to ask them what the craic with tickets was,” Smith adds.

“It will be nice to have them over in a sell-out stadium. It’s going to be an incredible experience. Unfortunately, every time they see me play, I seem to get injured, so let’s hope that’s not the case this time!

“You don’t know when or if you’re going to get the opportunity to play a World Cup again at any level, so to be able to get the chance is incredible.

“We are hoping to really achieve at this World Cup. We’re looking to get to the latter stages and, if not, pick up a medal. We’ve got a second-place medal this year, so we will look to improve on that.”