It says something about the naturalisation of Andy Ward that the New Zealand-born player was moved to shed a tear in the dressing-room before last week's game against the United States. Then again the episode says as much about the way the World Cup had become a personal Holy Grail.

Men don't cry? The hell they don't. Besides, modern '90s man doesn't mind admitting it, even if he says it's not a regular occurrence. "I was just sort of thinking of all the work that had gone in over the years," he says. "When you're out running down the road by yourself you tend to think. You set yourself goals and targets. For it to finally be here and all the hours gone in, it was quite an emotional time.

"I was thinking about my family here and my parents as well, so it was a bit of a let-go," he adds. "But if felt good, I felt good with it myself and I think it got a lot of the other guys going when they saw a tear in my eye. They thought `jeez Christ, this it man'. I felt better for it anyway."

By the time he walked out of the changing-room, Ward had cleared his head. But the way he candidly describes those private moments, it also makes you realise that however much rugby is a team game, there's the loneliness of the long-distance runner in the mix as well.

Ward had been obliged to plough a lonelier furrow than most after what he acknowledges was a poor Five Nations' campaign last season. Suddenly, he wasn't at the pitch of the game like he had been. The big, all-enveloping turnover tackles seemed to be less frequent and missed tackles, especially in open play, could be extracted from the video re-runs. After some naval contemplation, he laid the blame squarely on his own shoulders.

Injured for the game against France, Ward was then publicly criticised by Warren Gatland (an untypical move) after the games against Wales and England. The coach mentioned Ward's celebrity status in Ulster after their European Cup win, his sponsored car, and generally implied that the flanker had lost his way. Gatland toyed with the idea of dropping the player he had plucked from relative obscurity for his first game as coach against France in 1998. And he did omit Ward, along with several others, for the game against Italy following the Murrayfield defeat. For Ward it was a first.

Ward carried a greater workload than most during Ulster's European Cup odyssey, but he dismisses such excuses and concurs with Gatland. "At the end of the day I sat down and looked at myself after the Five Nations and asked myself `where did it go wrong?'

"I think it was a bit of a fathead scenario. After the European Cup we thought, `we're good'. All this sort of carry on. The training got neglected for a couple of weeks leading into the Five Nations and the form dropped.

"Playing for Ulster was at a certain level, but to go into internationals was another level again. It was the first time I had ever experienced anything like that. Looking back now I'm probably lucky enough I'm still here, but I think it's left me in good stead knowing that if you don't train and you don't perform, you don't get the acclaim you sometimes aspire to. It was sort of a blessing in disguise and I was very fortunate."

Ward sat down with his wife, discussed the mid-career crisis, and deduced that he couldn't afford to let it slip away. Sacrifices, in terms of personal time, had to be made. Ward undertook considerable training on his own before the Australian tour.

"I kept a daily diary of everything I did. At the end of every week I would sit down and go over my diary and ask myself was there enough training or was there too much golfing, or was there too much leisure time? I think that was the turnaround. You put more work in, you feel better, and you play better. It was peace of mind at the end of the day for myself, too."

You could only admire the way he dug deep and rebounded in Australia. During the Five Nations, his game had become heavily scrutinised and criticised. Was he a six-and-a-half, or an out-and-out number seven? He analyses his own game critically. "It's definitely something I have to work on every day. But no-one is perfect, and I'm just trying to learn as much as I can, and looking for inspiration from other people."

The way he's used by Ulster - as one of their main strike-runners who doesn't hit as many rucks as most open-side flankers do - may have created a mini-conflict with his role for Ireland.

"I had a tendency to stand off rucks and watch things happen two yards in front of me rather than get in and scratch around on the ground for the ball."

It's clear that Ward has been fairly consumed by Ireland, hardly surprising given he's married to an Irish woman, Wendy, and has fathered an Irish-born son Zachary.

"I love it here. I've been here over five years now and I feel like I've been here a lifetime. It's just I can see passion from Ulster and from Ireland's point of view. It just feels like home. I love it to bits.

"I love the people. I just love their openness and the camaraderie is fantastic. I've been to a few countries in the world now and it's just something that you cannot beat. I think it's even stronger than it is in New Zealand as well."

Home will remain here after rugby, where the game has given him more opportunities. Home is also Ulster and Ballynahinch. Ward is possibly the only player of the 600 in this World Cup to be playing with a third division club. His acute sense of loyalty is pretty self-evident.

Perhaps, when it comes to interprovincial matches, this partly explains why international team-mates are surprised at how hostile he becomes. He's vocal with it, too, and leaves them in little doubt that Ravenhill is his and Ulster's patch, that they're the visitors.

"Why not? It's good for the game; a bit of a crack," he says mischievously. "Y'know, it's no good just sitting there and letting all the local lads take all the glory, you know what I mean? I enjoy it. I think it would be the same if I was playing for Munster. Whoever I run with and wherever I am, I give it 110 per cent."

With Ireland, Ward is very much in tune with the evolution of the team under Gatland.

"We just went back to basics and now, as a group, we've built on the basics. We're expanding all the time and the rugby we're playing now is a lot more attractive than it was two years ago.

"In a few years' time, whatever I do when I retire, I'll be able to sit down and look over the last few years and the things that have happened. It's been very eventful, and very memorable."

At this juncture, it's not in Ward's plans for his father Rod and mother Kris to come over for the World Cup, unless, he says, Ireland make the semi-finals or final. It's a trip he can see his parents having to make.

"A lot of us were thinking `this could be our chance, so let's go all out'. Every day that goes by, that wee bit more belief comes into the squad. So everybody's coming on, bit by bit by bit."

He ranks Australia amongst the world's top three, with a brilliant defence and physically powerful backs. "They're all big, strong lads and they can bust tackles. So our defence has to be second to none. We're up for it this Sunday, and we do believe we can take them to the wire."

Ward rates his Wallaby counterpart, David Wilson, as one of the world's top three as well, alongside the peerless Josh Kronfeld and Neil Back.

"He (Wilson) is everywhere you don't want him to be. Sometimes you play against him and you wonder `how did he get there in front of me?' You pick up bits from guys like him, but at the same time it's nice to be in a situation where he's looking at me thinking `how did he get there in front of me?' He's a forager on the ground, so if I can beat him in that I'll be doing my job."