Autumn Internationals Ireland v USA USA captain Kort Schubert was what they term a "tweener" at High School - he wasn't big enough to play defensive end in American football and he wasn't fast enough for some of the other positions.

At six foot, three inches and innately athletic, Schubert's frame has been found to be useful for other things. Cardiff Blues believe so and over the summer signed him on a one-year contract. US coach Tom Billups has him in at number eight for tomorrow's game against Ireland.

Schubert has come a long way from Jesuit High, Sacramento. While California has never been described as a hot bed of rugby, Schubert's old college at Berkeley just across the Bay Bridge from San Francisco has a long tradition. When Schubert arrived there, he was a fully-fledged convert, a natural flanker but with some second-row history.

"I started playing (American) football when I was about 14 years-old. Two years of that and I picked up rugby," he says. "I used go watch my older brother Greg playing for St Mary's and so I picked up things there. Then in High School I also played rugby but it wasn't that organised. By the time I was leaving High School, they had a well-organised team.

"I played lock a few times but it wasn't for me. It was mostly at six and eight. At Northampton last season I played a few positions but since going to Cardiff in August I've played at eight."

Schubert has been tackling, breaking the gain line and ripping balls from the opposition for the USA since he was 20-years-old. A well-built, easy-going Californian, he's at eight tomorrow in a side that has to accommodate 11 amateur players. Making the jigsaw hold together is one of the challenges of the USA coach. None of the players escape the idea of a mismatch but nor do any, including Schubert, feel USA cannot take something from the match.

"Ireland have a world-class back row," he says. "We have some experience with myself and a few other players. I look forward to the challenge of facing guys like Easterby and Foley, guys like that. You'd just be up for that on the day. I see a level of competition each week playing with Cardiff then come back here and see that our players are just as athletic and just as capable of competing on that level. I see it as a challenge, one I can get excited about."

Schubert is the latest in a long line of talent that has crossed the Atlantic, many of them loose forwards. The athletes most linked with American football appear to be those with physique and pace and therefore most suited to rugby conversion. But Schubert is different than his predecessors, Dan Lyle and Dave Hodges, in that he has played since High School. He played for the USA under-19s when at Jesuit High and followed that up with four years under Jack Clark at University. While there he was voted the top athlete at the school, in any sport.

Northampton's seconds was his staging post last season before catching the eye of Cardiff coach Dai Young, desperate for some back-row soldiers for his injury-hit squad. Now at 25, Schubert is one of the veterans in terms of field experience.

"You see different levels of skill between the sides," he says. "The Irish have played their whole lives. There are things you learn from having played rugby for so long. I like to think the American way is to bring physicality to the game and that defines us. We play simple rugby. The Irish maybe have a bit more flair but we try to play a simple style, get in the opposition faces and play off the mistakes and force errors."

They will meet Ireland manfully but the probability of surviving the tempo of the match for its entirety is unlikely. While Ireland are match fit, many of the US side have yet to start their domestic season.

"I'll tell them to match Ireland physically in every aspect," he says. "I'll tell them don't stop. You know, we've been down before."