Ireland flank CJ Stander has confirmed that he was told he should move to hooker while at the Bulls.

The former SA U20 captain left Pretoria in October 2012 to join Munster. He recently became eligible to play for Ireland, and made his debut against Wales in Dublin last weekend, at openside flank.

The 25-year-old made 23 carries during the match and two steals at the breakdown, which saw him named Man of the Match in the 16-16 draw.

On Thursday, Stander told EWN Sport why he left South Africa.

'I don't want to single people out but I was told by someone coaching at a high level that I was too small [to play loose forward] and that I should move to hooker as that was the only position where I would play international rugby.

'I spoke to my family and I said that moving to that position is going to be tough. You have to throw in well, you have to be able to scrum, and I said to myself, “I'm not going to do this”.

'I just made the decision easy and said, “Well boys, I'll pack up my stuff and leave. Munster signed me and they didn't think I was too small.'