Brett Wilkinson has proven himself to be one of Connacht's shrewdest signings from overseas after adopting superbly to life on the west coast of Ireland in 2006.

An uncompromising loose-head prop, Wilkinson hails from Grahamstown in South Africa and showed enough promise while at school to earn himself a scholarship with the University of Cape Town. He justified the University's faith in him, turning in a string of impressive performances which ultimately drew the attention of Western Province.

However, it was Connacht who ultimately managed to land Wilkinson's signature. It was envisaged that he would take some time to settle into his new surroundings but Wilkinson wasted no time at all in establishing himself as a regular in the province's starting line-up.

He was called into the Ireland squad for the 2009 November Tests but did not feature in any of the games. However, he was handed a start for Ireland A during the same autumnal campaign and marked the occasion with a try.

Wilkinson was drafted into the full squad for the 2010 November tests because of concerns over the fitness of Marcus Horan. This call-up came just weeks after Wilkinson had made his 100th appearance for Connacht in the Amlin Challenge Cup clash with Cavalieri Prato, thus perfectly underlining his importance to the Westerners' front row.