Joey Carbery has revealed the pressure surrounding his move from Leinster to Munster — and admitted the pain of being dropped by Ireland still drives him today.

The outhalf, now back at Leinster following spells with Munster and Bordeaux Bègles, remains determined to revive his international career after recently being named in the Ireland XV squad.

Speaking to The Irish Times, Carbery explained how his ambition to play outhalf for Ireland shaped his decision to leave Leinster in 2018.

While Stuart Lancaster saw a role for him at fullback, then-Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt wanted him playing regularly at 10 ahead of the World Cup.

“I was put under a bit of pressure. It was coming into a World Cup cycle, and they wanted me playing 10,” Carbery said.

Stuart saw me as a 15. I was happy in either, but I wanted to play for Ireland, and Joe said he couldn’t pick me unless I was playing 10. So, it just came about that way.”

Carbery spent six seasons at Munster, but the international breakthrough he had hoped for never fully materialised.

Despite winning 37 caps, he has never started more than two consecutive Tests for Ireland, with his last appearance coming against Fiji in November 2022.

“It’s something that I’ve always thought about, and I would have always loved a run.”

Asked whether he would change the decisions he made, Carbery distinguished between regretting his choices and wishing they had produced a different outcome.

“Would I go back and change it? No. Would I wish things happened differently? Yes. But I don’t think I’d change it because every decision was made to play for Ireland at 10. These things happen.”

His ambition had been to establish himself ahead of Johnny Sexton or succeed him when he retired. Instead, a difficult conversation with Andy Farrell in 2023 left a lasting mark.

“That I went and progressed on, and either took it away from Johnny, or when he stepped away, I became the starting 10. That is still with me to this day, that call I had with Andy in 2023, when he said I wasn’t involved.

“It hurt me a lot. The move [to Munster] was to play for Ireland. It’s something that definitely fuels me. I’ve used it in different ways to help me get through tough times.”

Carbery believes that disappointment also opened the door to his French experience and helped sustain his determination through injury setbacks.

Now back where his professional career began, he sees an opportunity to work his way into contention again.

“Yes, you look at it, and maybe it doesn’t make as much sense. But for me, if you’re the starting 10 at Leinster, you’ve a good chance to be the starting 10 for Ireland. I never thought it would happen again, and it’s great to have it.”