Ireland’s hooker is a lean, green try machine!
DAN SHEEHAN is crossing the line for fun and (England beware) his side have lost only two of 40 line-outs on his throw
AS a man who was arguably the first to redefine the hooker role, Keith Wood’s response when asked to describe current Ireland incumbent Dan sheehan is particularly striking.
‘I’m very happy to talk about Dan because at his age and with what I’ve seen from him, I think he’s easily the best I’ve seen anywhere,’ said Wood. some statement.
Wood, the inaugural World Rugby player of the year in 2001, was a force of nature for Ireland and the British & Irish Lions with the No 2 on his back. In a position which historically focused merely on hooking the ball at the scrum and throwing into the lineout, Wood took things to a whole new dimension.
He rampaged forward in the loose and scored tries for fun, much like sheehan does.
sheehan, 25, is the young man at the head of the Irish scrum. He is a supreme all-rounder who is surely the leading contender to start at hooker for the Lions in Australia next summer.
Indeed, Wood believes sheehan is an Ireland captain in waiting. ‘For this six Nations when I looked at who was going to be captain after Johnny sexton’s retirement, I thought Caelan Doris or sheehan,’ said Wood.
‘They went with Peter O’Mahony who is experienced and doing a fantastic job but I think either Doris or sheehan would be the ones to do it for the future.’
Wood’s praise is entirely deserved. On saturday, England will come up against a formidable Ireland side. Andy Farrell’s men are just two wins away from becoming the first team in six Nations history to win back-toback Grand slams.
‘He’s fantastically athletic. His ability to move his feet before he gets the ball offsets defenders all the time so he consistently gets over the gainline in heavy traffic,’ Wood said of sheehan. ‘To do that is incredibly difficult. It puts him above everyone else and as soon as he gets into any bit of space, he’s running like a centre! He seems incredibly composed.
‘He plays like someone four or five years older than him. From when he first came on to the scene to where he is now has been pretty stunning. It will be interesting to see where he is in a couple of years. I’d be fascinated to see how he goes with the Lions which is very different.’
sheehan has said he is ‘comfortable in attack’ and the statistics back this up. The hooker is the second top tryscorer in the 2024 six Nations with four in only three matches.
‘The tries are coming as a result of the very strong maul Ireland have but Dan’s contribution is everywhere,’ said Rory Best, like Wood a former Ireland captain and hooker. ‘He’s an unbelievable athlete but it’s his technical ability that stands out.’
‘Look at the positions he gets into. He can hold the width but he can also play around 10. He’s so good on his feet and so big and strong that post- contact he’s very hard to deal with. As a character, he’s fairly unflappable.
‘If a line- out does go wrong, you won’t see him throwing his hands up in the air or looking for someone else to blame. He’s also added to his scrummaging which was maybe a little bit of a weakness at the start.
‘He’s really tightened up that scrum. He’s an all-round, modern hooker which is where the game has gone now. The French hookers Peato Mauvaka and Julien Marchand are similar. These guys are unbelievably athletic.’
sheehan plays his club rugby with Leinster and came through the province’s famously strong college system, in his case at Dublin’s Trinity.
Ahead of this year’s six Nations, he has worked hard on his set piece. At 6ft 3in, he is tall for a hooker but in the first three rounds of the Championship, Ireland have lost only two of their 40 line-outs.
sheehan and hooking understudy Ronan Kelleher had a perfect throwing record against France and Italy. Wood added: ‘Kelleher was the rising star until sheehan came along and for Ireland to have the two of them now working together is a big piece of the pie I think.
‘They’re both of a very high standard and are pushing each other. People talk about sheehan all the time and rightly so but if you talk about him without Kelleher and vice versa, you’re doing both an injustice.’ l
• MARCUs SMITH looks set to return to the 23- man squad against Ireland after No 10 rival Fin smith missed training due to a calf injury yesterday.
Although there are hopes Fin smith can rejoin training later in the week, the Quins fly-half is ready to replace his namesake on the bench, with George Ford tipped to be the starter.