EOIN REDDAN, a lightning-quick scrum half who reads the game very well, earned his first call-up to the Irish squad for the 2006 Six Nations opener against Italy, and made his Test debut soon after as a replacement against France.

He hit a rich vein of form over the last season, culminating in a win for his club Wasps in last May's Heineken Cup final. Reddan had a big influence for the London side, scoring in the final to take his European try tally to four for the campaign.

He took up the game as a 13-year-old with local club Old Crescent. Educated at Crescent College Comprehensive and the University of Limerick, Reddan, having been initially with Munster, played for Connacht for two seasons before re-signing for Munster in 2003.

Reddan was on the replacements bench for Munster's Heineken Cup semi-final defeat by his future employers Wasps at Lansdowne Road in 2004. Former Connacht and Ireland coach Warren Gatland lured the Limerick native to Wasps for the 2005/06 season and his performances soon saw him gain international recognition.

With Peter Stringer increasingly hard to displace, Reddan had to wait until the recent summer tour to Argentina to make his first start for Ireland. He followed it up with his third cap against Scotland and a call-up to the Ireland World Cup squad.