NOWADAYS the bricklayer-turned-hooker is back to being a brickie but for six magical weeks in 2011 Lloyd Burns was in the thick of it as Wales came within inches of a World Cup final.

"Sometimes it seems like a lifetime ago, sometimes it feels like yesterday," says the 30-year-old former Newport Gwent Dragons front row forward, who was forced to retire on medical grounds just months after returning from New Zealand.

Burns' tale from a wannabe full-timer frustrated at his lack of opportunities, to finally getting a crack at Rodney Parade, to catching the eye of Warren Gatland with some typically abrasive derby performances, to a World Cup squad member is a remarkable one.

And the prospect of playing on rugby's biggest stage hadn't really entered the hooker's mind until June of 2011 when, the day after he got married, he came off the bench in the 31-28 loss to the Barbarians at the Millennium Stadium.

The framed jersey from that game – which also saw his close friend Taulupe Faletau make his Test bow – hangs proudly on the wall of Burns' Sebastopol living room.

"Before that I'd not even thought about the World Cup, not at all," said Burns. "I was only just getting into the swing of things of being a professional rugby player really.

"It was only my second season as a pro and not long before that had been working full-time, training with Cross Keys twice a week and then playing Saturdays.

"Suddenly it all changed. I'd always been a keen rugby enthusiast and had watched World Cups. It's a cliché but you always dream of playing in one and the Barbarians game gave me a little taster.

"I was in the frame I suppose and was determined to do all that I could to stay in the mix by training hard and keeping physically fit enough to compete at the top level."

Burns was still very much an outsider.

Matthew Rees had captained Wales in the Six Nations and was backed up by Huw Bennett, Richard Hibbard and Ken Owens along with Burns, who pledged to give it everything in training at the now infamous Spala camp.

After fighting his way to becoming a professional, dealing with countless knockbacks, there was no chance of him holding back.

"Training was hard and it's a mental thing, knowing that you have the fitness in the bank," he said.

"I was more into the wrestling and tug of war... the brutal things. There was a lot of strong man stuff in Poland and I enjoyed that – fighting in a sand pit, last man standing. Everyone was a rival, I won't say if I won but I did alright!"

Burns played in the pair of warm-up Tests against England, coming off the bench at Twickenham and starting at the Millennium Stadium, and then suddenly he became a World Cup shoo-in.

In early August Rees was ruled out of the World Cup with a neck injury and later that month Hibbard suffered ankle ligament damage in the final friendly against Argentina.

Cue receiving the good news when with Faletau in the unglamorous location of a Cwmbran butchers and venturing Down Under.

Bennett proved to be a hard man to budge in New Zealand; the Ospreys man started six of seven games and Burns was an unused replacement in the tournament opener against South Africa and knockout clashes with Ireland and France.

He played against Samoa, Namibia, scored his only Test try against Fiji and then came off the bench in the bronze match against Australia.

"Huw was first choice going over there," said Burns. "I had other thoughts but in fairness he played really well and it wasn't to be.

"But it was an amazing experience and the World Cup is the pinnacle of any player's career. There was no bitchiness in camp, everyone was there for each other and everyone seemed to get on.

"We all had the same mindset and wanted to do the jersey proud. I think we did that – we were great friends and played some great rugby together.

"The South Africa game was brutal first up and we had proved we weren't there just to make up the numbers and things got better from there.

"At the start of the tournament I think the public would have been happy for us to just get out of the group so to finish fourth was a pretty amazing achievement."

That finale against the Wallabies at Eden Park would prove to be Burns' last on the Test scene. Before the end of that season he was forced to retire because of a heart problem.

"Four years on it still hurts watching international rugby, even club rugby to be honest," said Burns, who keeps fit mountain biking and is back bricklaying with his friend Andrew Jones.

"You watch on the telly and feel that you could be doing a job out there. It's tough but at the end of the day it's just a game and there is more to life.

"Ask any player from the age of six to 36 and they all want to pull that red jersey on – I have managed to do that and I am so proud of what I achieved."