Making the final 33-man World Cup squad and representing Ireland in France would undoubtedly surpass the England game as the apex of Baird’s international career but it is interesting to note that he didn’t idolise Irish World Cup stars of previous generations growing up.
Indeed, the sportsperson that really caught his eye was tennis star Rafael Nadal, whose “fight, competitiveness and passion” captured a young Baird’s imagination.
“I wouldn’t have really looked up to anybody in rugby,” he reveals.
“It was more tennis, Nadal was my idol when I was growing up. I enjoyed watching and playing rugby but it would have been Nadal who I idolised.”
But Baird also admits to having been blown away by meeting Paul O’Connell, the Ireland and British and Irish Lions icon who is now part of Farrell’s backroom team.
O’Connell, a 2009 Grand Slam winner and three-time Lions tourist, is revered in Irish rugby circles and the Munster great’s knowledge and aura was not lost on Baird when they first met.
“So Paulie to me when I came in, I was just blown away. You see him on TV but I never really focused in on watching him – it was Paul O’Connell, great captain, Lions tours, so successful.
“But then you come in here and you see why he was so successful. That was the most impressive part.”
Of course, with a World Cup on the horizon, the tournament has to feature in the discussion at some point and Baird admits he has been keeping tabs on South Africa and New Zealand in the ongoing Rugby Championship.
Ireland will face the Springboks, the reigning world champions, in their third pool game in France on 23 September while the All Blacks are potential quarter-final opponents should both teams make it that far.
“Yeah, you kind of have a little peak at their [South Africa’s] line-outs and the same with New Zealand, just seeing if there are any trends that teams are trying to do at the moment leading up to the World Cup,” explains Baird, who made his Ireland debut in the 2021 Six Nations.
“But I wouldn’t be putting too much attention on it, I’d be putting more attention on here.”
‘Here’ meaning Ireland’s training programme, of course. Like the rest of his team-mates, Baird has thrown himself into prep ahead of the warm-up games and, when asked if he studies other players in training, his response is unsurprisingly thoughtful.