It is easy to understand the unbridled pleasure that Bristol-born Irish international Kevin Maggs radiates when discussing his life as a professional rugby player.

In comparison with his previous employment, rugby - international or club - is a mere bagatelle. "I worked for a civil engineering firm, 60 hours a week, laying kerbs. I was working 12 hours a day, training at night and getting home at 9.0 p.m. The only thing I was fit for was bed. I would get up the next morning and it would be the same routine again.

"Some Saturdays I used to work in the mornings, get picked up by one of the lads and go play a match for Bristol."

The 24-year-old Bath centre's delivery is shy, but matter of fact. There is no hint of events being coloured for effect. "Since the game turned professional I haven't looked back. At one stage I was working all the hours God sends. Now I have the chance to do something that I love and enjoy. You don't get that every day, so I'll make the most of it."

Maggs defies the stereotypical rugby player in many ways, not least by the fact that he did not take up the game until his late teens, preferring soccer from the age of 11 until 17.

"I had played the game at 10, but you don't know what you are doing then, do you? Some people would say I still don't know. I didn't play rugby at my local school, Lockleaze, because they'd had a fight in a rugby match a few years before in which one of the guys broke his back. The school banned it, so we played football."

His days as a late developing rugby player were even less auspicious. Attending South Bristol College, he joined Imperial RFC, but after a few games on the under-19s "we got banned for fighting". His redemption came in a Bristol Colts trial. "I just spoke to Alwyn Price (Bristol coach) after the match and that was it."

Three years of underage rugby, where he captained both under-19 and under-21 teams, prepared the way for his arrival in the senior squad in the summer of 1995. At the outset of last season the Bristol squad was asked to set personal targets. Maggs listed his desire to earn some form of Irish representation.

The Irish thing had always been there, the direct link to an Irish passport his maternal grandfather Michael O'Neill, who hailed from Limerick. "My family have been coming over here for the last four or five years, but I haven't been able to join them because of rugby commitments. They come over in September, always September, and tour around Ireland."

His Irish odyssey began fortuitously. In April 1997, then Irish coach Brian Ashton travelled to a Bristol game to study the form of Paul Burke, Barry McConnell and David Corkery. Three months earlier Bristol had faxed the IRFU outlining Maggs's eligibility. Ashton only became aware of that in a conversation after the game.

Mercifully, he acted swiftly. The following Tuesday the IRFU contacted the player and soon after he was put on standby as a replacement for Jonathan Bell for the Development Tour to New Zealand and Western Samoa. He made the touring party, having helped Bristol to avoid relegation with a playoff win over Bedford.

New Zealand was a huge shock to the system for Maggs. "It was a very difficult time for a lot of the lads. We were really put through it in training and this, coupled with playing some excellent teams, meant that there wasn't much respite. Morale took a fair battering.

"I would describe it as the toughest five weeks of my life - emotionally, physically, in every way. We were in all the worst places, put through our paces without remorse. There were no hiding places. On a tour like that you either stand up and be counted or you're gone. Some of the lads just buckled."

Maggs didn't and earned plaudits for his powerful defence and work ethic. He was one of the few successes of a tour that blitzed more careers than it nurtured.

The South African tour last summer provided a different experience.

"South Africa was a very tough tour with a hard and demanding schedule of games. There were a lot of new players, but everyone got to know each other in a good setting. We did well and worked hard, although the results weren't as pleasing as they might have been. I thought that we coped well enough, given that we were playing the World champions."

Maggs's first cap came against New Zealand in November 1997, at Lansdowne Road, when he replaced St Mary's College wing John McWeeney after 51 minutes.

"Pat Whelan (then manager) shouted for me to get my tracksuit off. I was absolutely scared stiff. When 10 minutes went by I thought I might not have to go on, but then I got another call. It was the most nervous I have ever been."

He is self-deprecating when describing his confrontation with Jeff Wilson. "I nearly knocked myself out, I got burnt by him. Not that great really. But when I went home on Monday I just celebrated all day."

Selected on the wing for the following international against Canada, Maggs grabbed his first and, to date, only international try. An injury to Rob Henderson allowed him switch to his favoured position of centre for the Italian match and he remained an ever-present member of the team through the Five Nations Championship.

Those who considered Maggs nothing more than an interloper, a stop-gap measure, have been proved wrong. Considered Ireland's outstanding back in South Africa, Maggs played both test matches, bringing his tally to nine caps. His 10th comes today, albeit on the wing.

"I would prefer to play in the centre, but to be honest all I want to do is play for Ireland. Give me a green jersey, it doesn't matter what number is on the back. If Warren (Gatland) and Donal (Lenihan) want me to play on the wing, then so be it."

Maggs suffered an unwelcome surprise on his return from South Africa.

"I came back to find that my contract wasn't been honoured at Bristol and that the club was going into receivership. Losing all that time at Bristol really hurt. You start to ask yourself questions and it can all get a bit much.

"I went back on the market. I spoke to the IRFU about `going home'. I considered it very seriously. I knew that a few of the boys were going back and that is obviously what the union wanted. I was prepared to move and my girlfriend was going to come with me.

"Gloucester and Bath came in and I decided to go for Bath because of the standards they set and what they want to achieve. I went from a situation where my contract was void to playing with the European champions."

Maggs received no guarantees and was aware that he would have to fight alongside Jeremy Guscott and Phil de Glanville for a place in the team.

Bath coach Andy Robinson is delighted with the new arrival, although when asked what Kevin Maggs brought to the club, to peals of laughter in the background, he ventured that: "He lowers the IQ of the first team. "Seriously, he has been an excellent acquisition. I have been very impressed with his attitude. He was guaranteed nothing, but fought his way into the side and ousted Phil de Glanville in the process. He is a good ball carrier and begs the honest question, `are you going to tackle me because I'm going to tackle you'. Rugby can be over-complicated by some, Kevin fits in well here and I imagine with Ireland."

Maggs's success in establishing himself with first Ireland and now Bath encapsulates a career where his work ethic, ability and honesty have allowed him vault all hurdles. His targets are simple. "Win the World Cup qualifiers, get revenge against South Africa, something of which I believe we are capable, and then push for a Five Nations title.

"We know that we can beat Wales and Scotland and take it from there. The spirit within the squad is brilliant, the forwards are coming together and while the backline is still a bit undecided, it should bring out the best in those who occupy the jerseys. No one is indispensable."