Lion.

Munster and Ireland winger Andrew Conway has made it clear – he wants to tour with the British and Irish Lions to South Africa next year and he’s going to do everything in his power to make that happen.

The 29-year-old has been one of Munster’s most consistent performers over the last number of seasons and has become one of Ireland’s first-choice wingers under Andy Farrell.

Competition in the back-three for the Lions is as fierce as ever but Conway has high expectations of himself and believes he can get head coach Warren Gatland’s attention with some hard work over the next few months.

“If you’re playing international rugby and you’re looking at the schedule and seeing what tour is the following year, then it’s obvious that a Lions tour is coming up,” Conway told us this morning.

“I’d have high expectations of myself, I feel like I have a really, really high work-rate. I think what you put in, you get out. I’ll get on that tour if I put the work in and perform. That’s how I’ll be looking at it.”

Conway reckons players shouldn’t shy away from ambitions to represent the famous touring side but is aware of the competition he faces.

“I’m definitely not afraid to say that I want to go on a Lions tour and that’s my ambition. I can say that all I want and there’s probably 60,70,80 or 100 players in the four nations that are thinking the same as me,” Conway said.

“I don’t think it’s something that we need to shy away [from] and I don’t need to be like, ‘Oh, that’s not something I’m thinking of.’ Because it is. There’s no point in me lying about it but there’s a lot of work to do to get back playing on the pitch for Munster and get back into the Ireland team.

“All going well, if you do those things then the outcome will hopefully take care of itself. But yeah, as much as that is there and it’s something that I’m thinking about, I’m very aware that the process to get there is something entirely different, so that’s what I’ll be focussing on while also in the back of my mind thinking that’s where I want to be. If that makes any sense.”

Conway has featured at both fullback and on the wing for Munster in recent seasons – which is something that could help his case in terms of Lions selection. And while he has worked hard to cement his spot on the wing for Ireland at international level – he continues to work on his game at fifteen too.

“I’ve played a bit there over the years and always felt I performed well at fullback and got my hands on the ball more but there are parts of my game that need sharpening up if I’m going to play at 15,” Conway added.

“I need to be able to take more responsibility on the ball and be a bit more of a ballplayer – which at this point in time wouldn’t be the strongest part of my game; it’s something I’m working on, the passing and the reading of the game.

“At the moment being on the wing, I think I’ve got a bit of consistency and I’ve been playing there a lot for the last few years so I do feel really comfortable there. But that’s definitely not to say that I won’t be working away on those little intricacies and if needs be I wouldn’t be happy and comfortable playing there.

“But at the moment it’s looking like the wing with the ability to cover.”

Munster Rugby player Andrew Conway was pictured today as he announced that Pinergy has re-branded to strengthen its core offering as an energy with insight supplier. To celebrate Pinergy’s re-brand and the return of competitive Irish rugby, Munster fans across Ireland can enter a competition for the chance to “fanergise” the Munster Rugby team by giving them a virtual team talk, ahead of their first game back against Leinster in the Guinness Pro14.

Pinergy will post across its social channels (Instagram: @pinergyie Twitter: @Pinergy or Facebook: @PinergyIRL) from today and for a chance to win, all fans need to do is reply to with a comment, photo or video demonstrating why they should be Munster Rugby’s 16^th man and give the team talk. All entrants must tag @Pinergy and use #WeAre16. Four entries will be shortlisted and required to submit a 15 second video or audio clip to give a taste of their team talk so that Pinergy along with Munster Rugby’s Andrew Conway can select a worthy winner.