Unused in 2003 and playing just three minutes in 2007 – against Namibia – one of the unsung heroes of Ireland’s squad has finally been given his chance.

A perennial substitute and since the emergence of Jonathan Sexton struggling even for a place on the bench, the 32-year-old Ulsterman approached his role with admirable stoicism.

“Kicking up a fuss is detrimental to the squad. Everyone here wants to be playing and (coach) Declan Kidney knows that,” he said.

“He doesn’t have to be confronted too much. He’s always available to question over what you need to do to get into the team.

“It doesn’t help squad morale if you sulk or moan. Everyone in the squad is very good that way. There is an element of frustration, to put it mildly, but I’ve always adopted the attitude that it’s the coaches’ call.

“Whether or not you agree with it, you have to accept it and not allow your standards to drop.

“The management have provided opportunities, like this game against Russia, and it’s up to players to take them.”

Kidney admits Wallace has accepted his lack of opportunities to play for Ireland with commendable good grace.

“There’s an awful lot that goes on behind the scenes and there is a lot of generosity from some guys,” said Kidney.

“The easy job is being in the XV, the hard part is when you’re not in it. What Paddy has contributed would be an example to every young player coming through of how to give to a squad without wanting for yourself.

“That’s always the way he’s been and he’s approached his role probably way better than I’d be able to.

“He’s as disappointed as any player when left out, but he always takes time out, thinks about it and then supports the team.”

Wallace’s opportunities at the 2007 World Cup were limited by Ireland’s dismal performances which he believes prevented then coach Eddie O’Sullivan from tinkering with his line-up.

“In 2003 I was a late call-up so my expectations were quite low in terms of pitch time,” he said. “The second time around things didn’t go quite as we’d planned.

“It would have been nice to get a run against the minnow teams but we were struggling a bit, so Eddie put his top team out every time.

“Declan has been known to throw out a few surprises, while Eddie always had his strongest team in mind and wouldn’t deviate from that very often.

“The whole squad knew that so my expectations were that if there was an injury to Ronan O’Gara I’d get a chance, but Eddie’s policy on selection meant it was almost a given Ronan would play.

“Because of the way the first few matches went four years ago against Namibia and Georgia, Eddie felt he had to keep his best team out there. That meant not many of the other guys got a run.”