The 33-year-old prop – who was raised in Canberra – represents Ireland on ancestry grounds and would love it if he is part of the squad for the British and Irish Lions, which is comprised of players from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, when they head Down Under next year as it would make his family “really proud”.

He told Rugby World magazine: “A Lions tour back to Australia is the goal, but I’d be remiss to look too far ahead.

“My dad’s English and my mum’s Irish and we watched the Lions play in Australia in 2001.

“I had the Lions jersey on and we all watched it.

“If I could go full circle and go back to Australia, it’d be a dream come true and it would make my family really proud.”

During his teens in Australia, Finlay worked as a gardener but admitted it wasn’t something he was particularly good at.

Asked his first job, he said: “ I was a really bad gardener in Canberra when I was 16.

“I used to mow the lawns and I was real low down the pecking order, so I did all the s*** jobs nobody else wanted to do, carrying all the stuff to the bins.”

Meanwhile, the rugby star confessed to a fear of open water.

Asked if he has any phobias, he replied: “Definitely the ocean! In open water I feel very vulnerable.

“I was born in Australia so I know there are crocodiles and sharks who can do a real number on you.”