Pool Two, Leinster v Bath: John O'Sullivan on how the Leinster and Ireland flanker finally got the balance right on and off the pitch

There is a perception that Eric Miller is injury prone, that team mate and medical student Felipe Contepomi could write a thesis on the A-Z of rugby injuries using just Miller as the sole reference point.

While slightly frivolous there is that perception abroad that Miller and injury have been more than occasional bedfellows. While the 29-year-old he doesn't quite bristle at the suggestion, there is a certain weariness that accompanies his response to the charge.

"People are always asking me about it but I think it's been overblown. I have been unluckier than some but haven't suffered the serious injuries that others have." Scratch the surface, though, and it becomes evident that Miller himself once questioned the frequency with which he found himself on the wrong side of the whitewash.

"My perception (then) would have been the same as most people's and I used to get very frustrated. I try not to think about those things now. Stuff happens and you just have to deal with it. I suppose you learn a lot through the bad times. You hope the good times will come again."

A low point and a catalyst for his new-found philosophical outlook was the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia. Miller explains: "The World Cup was very frustrating for me and a turning point as regards (my) mental attitude towards the sport. I let things fester inside when things didn't go well for me during the tournament.

"I felt that I had taken my chances pretty well" - he scored two tries in the game against Namibia but was largely confined to bench duty - "and I was in good shape, good form. I did get a bit down and it's a lonely place, especially when you're away from home. It was one of the low points for me in my career.

"I was wasting energy in allowing things to tear me up inside. I resolved to get on with it, do what I could and allow things to develop after that. It's an easy thing to say now but I think you have to go through the good times and bad before you can really explain to someone how it feels.

"I had the assumption that when I was 100 per cent fit I would always get picked but that wasn't the case. That stuff you just have to learn. It has maybe taken me slightly longer than most people. Things were so good early in my career and that might have offered a false perspective. I like to think I am in a good place now."

It is important to recall the furore Miller generated as an outstanding schoolboy prospect. That pedigree was nurtured at both Wesley College and then various national and provincial underage sides.

At 19 he was playing for Leicester, at 21 for the Lions on the 1997 tour to South Africa. But for innocently taking some over the counter cold remedy medicine he would almost certainly have played in all three Tests rather than appearing in one. He was quite brilliant in the non-Test games, his athleticism and skill levels striking even among a high-quality Lions squad.

Nine months after he returned home from South Africa, though, Leicester had lost its lustre and Miller looked longingly homeward.

"It was a lifestyle choice. I was in my fourth year at Leicester. It was getting to the point where I needed other things in my life that weren't forthcoming over there. All my friends and family were back home.

"People may say that it was because of the fact that I went through a stage where I wasn't being picked. I probably wasn't a 100 per cent sure at the time but I could tell you now exactly the reason. I just knew that I wasn't happy and I believe that it affected my rugby towards the end. I didn't have the balance in my life of other things and it was basically rugby, rugby, rugby. It began to takes its toll. I made a decision to come home."

Miller's timing, impeccable on the pitch, was to prove calamitous on this occasion through no fault of his own. The first issue was extricating himself from a contract at Leicester that had still three years to run.

The English club were sympathetic but it still required Terenure College to stump up an alleged £25,000 in a transfer fee.

The then Leinster coach Mike Ruddock had filled all his contracts at that juncture so Miller took up an offer from Ulster coach Harry Williams. Unfortunately it was after the registration window for Europe. This was the season Ulster won the European Cup, with Miller reduced to occasional cameos in non-European matches.

"That was an unfortunate year to miss and who knows had I been around for that then things could have evolved in a more straightforward manner.

"Closer to those times it was obviously a lot more blurred but looking back I can confirm my instincts. On a practical level I made the right calls but things could have worked out a little better. If they had no one would be batting an eyelid.

"Leicester were good to let me go and Terenure came up with transfer fee. I will always be indebted to them.

"If you're not happy in your life then you are not going to play well on the pitch. I could have made a pure rugby decision (and stayed at Leicester). I like to have a good balance in my life and it's very important to me."

Miller was soon back at Leinster but injuries deprived him of an extended run both at provincial at national level. He suffered at the feet of others, pointedly Andy Titterall, the Sale hooker and Tongan prop Heamani Lavaka: in the latter incident he was fortunate not to lose an eye.

Few could question Miller's application or temperament. Every time he received a setback, he worked hard to regain lost ground. This season he made a simple promise to himself.

"I knew at the start of the season that it would be a lottery no matter how well I was playing in terms of getting back into the Irish team. Obviously one or two things had to go for me either injury-wise or opportunity-wise. I was happy with the first part of the year. I just want to continue in the same vein.

"It was a while since I played number eight for Ireland but in the USA match it did feel like I had returned to my natural position. I think I can play equally well at six. Number eight does give you a slight freedom that you don't get at six. Six is slightly more job specific. Eight is my spiritual home but I'd play anywhere to be on the pitch.

"I try and look on everything in a positive way. I got down on myself in the early years; no one put more pressure on me than I did myself. I had very exacting standards. It takes a while to learn from those things. I'm at a point now where nothing fazes me and I realise that I can't do any more than my best. Once I've done that then I have to be satisfied. Not to be is unrealistic."

Irish rugby supporters will be hoping that it's Miller time for the foreseeable future, content to raise a glass to an outstanding talent.