SAM GILBERT HAS shown impeccable timing to make his bow with Connacht in a week when Mack Hansen has been ruled out for a big chunk of the season.

The full-back signed for Connacht months before Stuart Lancaster was appointed and arrived in Galway a few weeks ago after his duties with the Highlanders and Otago were at an end.

He made his debut off the bench in the win over the Sharks last weekend and is poised for his first start away to the Ospreys on Sunday in the Challenge Cup.

“I guess I was sort of at a stage of my career where I’ve been in New Zealand for five or six years with the Highlanders and I guess for me it was an opportunity to play in a different competition but also play a different style of rugby,” said the 26-year-old.

“Obviously the awesome thing about the URC is the different teams involved, the different countries involved, the travel that’s involved with it as well, so yeah it was a really exciting opportunity. I signed up probably, must have been middle of the year, maybe May, so sort of four months ago, so it’s been a bit of a time between signing and getting here.”

Gilbert debuted against the Sharks last weekend. James Crombie / INPHO James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO

He is a versatile player and a consistent goalkicker who will give Lancaster and his senior coach Rod Seib a lot of options, but Gilbert has no doubt about his favourite position.

“I’ve always loved playing 15, I grew up playing a lot of 10 and then as I sort of moved into professional rugby, played a lot of 15, so I think that sort of comes from playing there more as well, and then obviously played a wee bit of 10, 12 and wing across that as well, but yeah 15′s probably my favourite.”

He’s getting used to the Irish accents and finding his feet and everything is new to him in this part of the world, not least the Brewery Field in Bridgend where he will make his European debut on Sunday against an Ospreys side who have only won once this season.

I mean that’s the awesome thing about these competitions as you’re playing one competition one way, you bounce into another one, I guess it’s sort of starting fresh as well, like back to zero points on the table.

“I haven’t heard too much about where we’re off to on Sunday but I’m looking forward to getting over there.”

He sounded out Connacht out-half Josh Ioane — who he lived with in Dunedin — and back rower Sean Jansen, both of whom he had played with for Otago, before making the move to Ireland.

He made his debut on one of the most benign nights that Connacht have played at Dexcom Stadium in Galway but he has got to experience some of the raw west of Ireland weather, a massive change from playing under the transparent roof at the Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin.

“Probably the biggest difference has been playing under a roof back home, you’re always guaranteed a dry ball and no wind, so slightly different obviously here in Galway!

“But in terms of rugby, like rugby’s rugby, the game’s the same, yes the structures and potentially the way you look at the game is a wee bit different, but I mean at the end of the day you’re still trying to score points, you’re still trying to create opportunities, create line breaks, move the ball, kick strategy, like it’s all the same.

“It’s really good to get different insights from the likes of Stuart and Rod, how they look at the game, how they talk about the game’s been really good and I guess it could be good for me to hear different voices and see different ways of looking at it,” he added.