Murray Kinsella Reports from Allianz Stadium

DAN SHEEHAN WAS still in the thick of Leinster’s URC after-party when Andy Farrell phoned him to ask if he would captain Ireland for a full campaign for the first time.

Sheehan got his first experience of captaining his country against Wales during the 2025 Six Nations, but with regular skipper Caelan Doris ruled out of this Nations Championship trip to Australia and New Zealand, the Irish hooker is the tour captain.

Speaking after Ireland’s very relaxed captain’s run at Sydney’s Allianz Stadium ahead of Saturday’s clash with the Wallabies, Sheehan appeared to be happy about taking on the additional responsibility.

Sheehan, who also captained the Lions in a warm-up game against the Western Force last summer in Australia and has done the job with Leinster, said it doesn’t feel too different to skippering Ireland that time against Wales.

“A small bit, but it’s something I’ve actually quite enjoyed,” said Sheehan. “It hasn’t been too daunting.

“I remember getting the call on the day two of the celebrations of the URC, and it didn’t faze me at all. I was more disappointed for Caelan at the time.

“We have a great group of leaders in the squad already, so it’s just a good chance for me to develop my own personal skills but also sort of get a grip of the squad in a full sort of month on tour, which has been nice.

“So, yeah, I think the prep has been good. I’ve enjoyed the build-up to it. I think everyone’s raring to go. A nice Saturday evening kick-off, hopefully a lot of Irish in town, so a lot to be excited for.”

Having seen Doris limping off early in the URC final against the Bulls, Sheehan had a sense that he might be hearing from Farrell in the days that followed.

“I knew it wasn’t great, his injury, so I kind of had it in the back of my head slightly that I needed to be ready to go,” said 27-year-old Sheehan.

Andy Farrell at Allianz Stadium. Ben Brady / INPHO Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO

“But, yeah, it was just a quick call, like 30 seconds, ‘Will you do it?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, sure, I’ll see you in Sydney’ because he was on the flight ahead.

“But no, it’s been perfectly fine. It’s probably trying to get away from thinking about it all the time. How’s the group feeling? Do you need to address anything? All this sort of stuff.

“But this group is very well-disciplined and take it extremely seriously every time they get a chance to put on this jersey. So it kind of does itself and no trouble so far.”

The key theme from Ireland camp this week has been their focus on starting the campaign strongly after disappointing efforts in that regard in their last two international windows.

They lost to the All Blacks in Chicago in their first game last autumn, then had a tough night away to France at the beginning of the Six Nations.

Part of Sheehan’s job in this regard has been making sure that the players haven’t been “overawed by detail” in the build-up to the Wallabies clash, allowing them to strip things back to the basics of the game and focus on bringing real physicality.

The hope is that Ireland will be able to pick up where they left off in the Six Nations, with particularly good performances against England and Scotland helping them to clinch the Triple Crown.

“It’s probably been a theme in a few campaigns now where we’ve had a slow start and built nicely through it,” said Sheehan.

“So, my big focus has been on making sure we continue that form from the end of the Six Nations. I think we’ve got the tone of the week right.

“Obviously we have to wait and see tomorrow, but I’m fizzing to go. My head feels pretty clear and free, which is the way you want to be as a player.”