‘It was amazing to see a big fella with that pace, skill and power’
Dan Sheehan has taken the scenic route to his first international start today but his unique skills can make him a fixture in Irish sides for years to come ...
DAN SHEEHAN tends to leave an impression wherever he goes. His postmatch interview following his Leinster senior debut was certainly memorable. It was October 24, 2020 and Sheehan had got the nod from Leo Cullen to start at hooker against Zebre. He put in a man-of-the-match display with a brace of tries.
Still charged from his star showing, he got a bit overexcited in front of the TV cameras. An ‘f bomb’ was dropped in the midst of one line of questioning.
You could forgive Sheehan for his over exuberance. That night had been a long time coming. Sheehan is still only 23. This afternoon, he will make his first start for Ireland after four previous appearances off the bench. For his age, he is doing well.
The journey to this stage of his career was not a straight line, however, Sheehan took the scenic route.
He was barely mapped at underage level. Born and reared in Dublin, he hardly kicked a ball in anger when he boarded at Clongowes. He played one friendly game for the Leinster U19s and was well down the pecking order with the Ireland U20s, playing second fiddle to the likes of Ronan Kelleher, Diarmuid Barron and Eoghan Clarke. He was yet to get acquainted with the gym as well.
It was only when he started lining out for Trinity under the watchful eye of Tony Smeeth that he began to make an impression.
All the raw material was there, though. Standing 6ft 3in and tipping the scales at 17 and a half stone, he certainly had the frame for the rigours of professional rugby. What’s more, he had pace, footwork and skills. If someone could polish this rough diamond, they had the makings of an Irish Codie Taylor – the freakishly talented All Black – on their hands.
Lansdowne has been something of a finishing school for such talents. Under the watchful eye of Mike Ruddock, the likes of Tom Daly, Tom Farrell, Tadhg Beirne, Max
Deegan and James Ryan learned their trade at the All-Ireland League club, which lies in the shadows of the Aviva Stadium.
Ruddock, who had guided Wales to a Six Nations Grand Slam in 2005, was informed by Sheehan’s uncle, Derry Shaw, that he should take a look at a raw, powerful hooker playing his rugby with the students across town.
Soon, Sheehan was making his way over to Dublin 4 to lock down the Lansdowne scrum. He was in and around the Leinster set-up, but a full-time contract was not forthcoming. His years in the AIL would prove transformative while Ruddock honed his lineout throwing and scrummaging. Sheehan’s throwing has always been a strength, but it is the power he generates in the front row which sets him apart.
‘I’ve always got guys like Dan to scrummage first, to go at the opposition before they come at us,’ Ruddock explains.
‘So, basically, my theory around hookers that big is that they’re pushing machines before they’re hooking machines, if that makes sense. It was changing his technique from hooking first to pushing first. ‘When you have a guy who is 110 kgs-plus, why wouldn’t you?’
While he mastered the dark arts against the likes of Cork Con, Clontarf and Young Munster, he was causing havoc for opposition defences. Having a frontrower who could step and offload like a Fijian Sevens player was a potent weapon.
‘Like most sides these days you tend to hold some of the forwards on the wider channels,’ said Ruddock.
‘When I played you’d be called a seagull if you hung out there but now it’s the way that everyone creates better shape and width in their game.
‘So suddenly we had this 6ft 3in hooker who could catch a cross-kick and score in the corner or could be on the end of a wide-wide attack and rip it up in the outside channels and score in the corner and sidestep back inside and score towards the posts. It was amazing to see a big fella being able to execute that level of skill in a wider channel with that sort of incredible pace and power that he had.
‘Just a nous for the try-line. I always think that there’s some guys that are natural try scorers and Dan is definitely that.’ He has retained that eye for the try-line since he broke through into the Leinster ranks. He has already racked up seven this season. One effort showcased his searing pace. Bath were taking a hammering at the Rec when Sheehan replaced Ronan Kelleher. Soon, he was running a line off Jamison Gibson-Park and racing 40 metres downfield for a brilliant solo score.
Mack Hansen is probably still getting teased for what Sheehan did to him at the RDS back in December. The Connacht wing was left for dead by a step and swerve from the giant Leinster hooker.
But it’s not all highlights-reel stuff. There is plenty of steel to this young frontrower as well.
‘For all the plaudits around his attack, the guy is super physical,’ Ruddock argued.
‘If you coming running at him in his channel, he’s gonna knock you over.’
He certainly didn’t take a backwards step at the Stade de France. When Kelleher went to ground in the 25th minute, Sheehan was called from the bench, delivering a solid 55 minutes against a fearsome French pack. His last-ditch, try-saving tackle on Melvyn Jaminet in the dying minutes may prove crucial down the road. It didn’t prevent a defeat in Paris but it salvaged a losing bonus point, which could make all the difference at the end of Super
He knuckles down at training and gets on with it but he’s a fierce competitor
Saturday.
Sheehan may have felt that days like today were beyond him. It took him a while to get to this stage but his rise has been meteoric since he signed his first deal with his home province in the summer of 2020.
He would make his debut four months later. He would make his Ireland debut off the bench against
Japan a year after that.
‘It goes slow for a few years and then it happens really quickly,’ said Sheehan last November after winning his first Ireland cap.
He is thriving in the high-performance environments at Leinster and Ireland these days.
He was in Andy Farrell’s camp less than a week before he got the tap on the shoulder to suit up for the Japan game.
In Kelleher and Sheehan, Leinster and Ireland have a pair of potential world class hookers at their disposal for the next three World Cup cycles. The dynamic duo would be short odds to make the flight to Sydney for the 2025 Lions tour of Australia.
This afternoon, he will be lining up for the anthems at the Aviva Stadium. His family and a few mentors will be in the stands. They have all helped shape this up-and-comer into a prize fighter.
‘For Dan, he’s a hell of a nice guy, doesn’t say a huge amount. He just knuckles down and gets on with his training, but there is a fierce competitor in there,’ Ruddock added.
‘There’s a warrior in there. He’s only going to get better and better. He needs to improve his after match interview technique! I think he had a bit of a blooper after one of them but if he gets that right, he’s pretty much the perfect player really.’
That’s the impression most people get these days.