Tomas O'Leary is shifting uncomfortably in his seat.

He has just been named as scrum-half on Ireland's team to face France and has been wheeled out to field what he thought would be regular questions pertaining to all things French.

The dictaphones are out in force but the conversation has taken on a decidedly Gok Wan hue as his inquisitors hone in on the physique that has made O'Leary one of the most effective tacklers in the game.

Undeniably more buff than when he came on the scene with Munster a few seasons hence, is it a case of gym'll fix it for O'Leary?

"I don't know have I (bulked up). That might be the perception but I haven't put on that much weight," he responds.

"Lower body is just as important for weight. Obviously when I was not in the rugby academy in Munster, I didn't really do any weights when I was playing hurling but I was only 17 or 18 then. I hadn't even thought about doing weights back then. It's just part of the professional set-up that you have to."

When the questions veer (rather alarmingly) to specific areas where O'Leary has increased his body mass, it is time to call a halt.

"Maybe, I don't know. I wasn't expecting 50 questions about my physique," he laughs.

Nonetheless, O'Leary's shuddering tackles have been a defining characteristic of his game this season (his hit on Clermont centre Benoit Baby a cert for tackle of the season), but modesty is another trait and he shrinks from the praise.

"It's everyone's job in the modern game to tackle. I was lucky to hit him in the right place. Everyone has their job to do. Hopefully, I can make my tackles on Saturday as well," he says.

While there has been a misguided perception that O'Leary represents a conservative selection on the basis of his game being based around fringe defence, he has always posed an offensive threat and reaffirmed that fact in considerable style during Munster's Heineken Cup meeting with Montauban two weekends ago.

His speed off the mark once had him earmarked as a winger and, at the start of the decade, his pace terrorised defences as he captained Cork's minor hurlers to an All-Ireland title. Now with the bulk to back it up, O'Leary scored one try and set up another in Montauban with powerful breaks off the back of the scrum and it is a tactic that could serve Ireland well on Saturday, particularly against an opponent as callow as the 23-year-old Sebastien Tillous-Borde, who will be winning his fifth cap in Croke Park.

Of course, O'Leary has one cap less than the Castres No 9 but is playing with a calm maturity founded on the big-game exposure he has received since usurping Peter Stringer during Munster's Heineken Cup charge last season.

And, as Tillous-Borde attempts to justify the controversial exclusion of Jean-Baptiste Elissalde and forge a partnership with Lionel Beauxis, O'Leary has the comforting presence of regular club partner Ronan O'Gara outside him.

"It's brilliant," he agrees. "I've been playing with Ronan for the last few years, knowing his game and he's getting used to mine. It's great to have that sort of guy beside you for the direction he gives and the experience he has.

“He is a class footballer as well. He's just brilliant to have beside you."

O'Leary has come a long way in a relatively short space of time and has worked extremely hard to get to this point -- answering question marks about his passing and kicking along the way. Two years ago, when Vincent Clerc denied Ireland what would have been a

Grand Slam, O'Leary was watching on the couch.

"I was at home watching it on television," he recalls. "Everyone was fierce disappointed to lose it in the last play of the game but I don't think that has any bearing on Saturday's game, it's two years down the line."

When Stringer was an institution at Munster and with Ireland, O'Leary admits to experiencing frustration at various stages, but is delighted he resisted the urge to move abroad in search of regular first-team rugby.

"When you're in an environment here with Munster and training with Ireland, you're learning from the best players in the world," he says.

"When I was first there with Deccie (Kidney) he preached about being patient and if you look at lads like Marcus (Horan) and Donncha (O'Callaghan), all of the lads within Munster have traditionally had to bide their time and serve their apprenticeship.

"I think it's probably been a good thing. Sometimes if you get things too easy in life you don't really appreciate it. Peter is a great player, I learned what I can from Peter, I still try to and the competition is great for both of us. It makes us both train harder and develop aspects of our game.

"I suppose the key thing was not to panic or get too frustrated. Obviously, there are times when you do get impatient. I was quite a bit away. I knew that if I could start playing regularly for Munster that I was going to be in the shop window to play for Ireland. It focused my mind to play for Munster and that is still the case."