TODAY’S IRELAND SQUAD announcement more or less confirmed what we already suspected – Leinster loosehead Jack Boyle is going to have a big role to play in this Six Nations.

With Andrew Porter and Paddy McCarthy both ruled out, Boyle is the frontrunner to start Ireland’s opener away to France on 5 February. Munster pair Michael Milne and Jeremy Loughman are also included, as is Ulster tighthead Tom O’Toole, who has previously played at loosehead for Ireland.

Boyle earned his first Ireland caps in last year’s Six Nations and started both games on the summer tour to Georgia and Portugal, but didn’t get any minutes in November as McCarthy moved up the loosehead queue.

Now Boyle has a prime opportunity to showcase his talents at Test level again. Should he start in Paris, it would mark just his fifth Ireland cap and first Six Nations start, having come off the bench against Wales and Italy in last year’s Championship.

“Jack’s an unbelievable player,” says Boyle’s Leinster and Ireland teammate, Dan Sheehan.

Dan Sheehan pictured at the launch of Optimum Nutrition’s ‘Optimum Advantage’ campaign. Leo Francis / INPHO Leo Francis / INPHO / INPHO

“I thought he had an exceptional game against Bayonne at the weekend, his ball-carrying ability, scrummaging ability, he’s a powerful athlete and he’s a great person to have around the changing room as well.

“He’s sort of the life of the room a lot of the time, and to see him hopefully get a shot now over the next few weeks and step up, I think he’s well able. It’ll be great for him to get a bit of experience and all this sort of adversity of people getting injured at this time of year, it just allows us to hopefully create a bit more depth.

“Coming up to a World Cup now in two years’ time, you need to have depth in every position and you never know who’s going to be playing in two years’ time, so I think it’s a great opportunity for him but it’s one that he’s well able for and he just needs to attack.”

Sheehan is one of 19 Leinster players in Farrell’s 37-man squad, but there’s just as much intrigue in the Ireland XV selection, where in-form winger JJ Kenny is one of six Leinster men.

There had been suggestions Kenny’s stunning form may have resulted in a full Ireland call-up, but for now, he’ll hope to take his opportunity against England A on 6 February in Thomond Park.

“It’s a tricky position being on that wing,” Sheehan says. “There’s a lot of things you have to get over, whether it be defensively, backfield and how we like to play the game. The way he’s come in, obviously he’s an incredible athlete, but he’s learning at an incredibly quick rate as well.

“If you looked at the performances over the last while, all his caps, he’s just getting better and better each week, which is what you want to see and how he’s grasped the opportunity, he hasn’t shied away from it one bit.

“He’s obviously an exceptional athlete and can produce big moments, but I think his game understanding is coming along nicely, and it’s obviously going to be something that he continues to work on, but it’s brilliant to see exciting talent come through like that.”

Kenny’s raw pace is one of the more striking aspects of his game, but Sheehan feels his power is perhaps overlooked.

“His ball-carrying ability in the tight, he’s a strong fellow who can run over people, he can run around them, he’s got it all really.

Kenny has been included in the Ireland XV squad. Morgan Treacy / INPHO Morgan Treacy / INPHO / INPHO

“It’s been refreshing to see him come in and obviously he’s scored a good amount of tries now, crucial points, especially in the games we’ve been in that have been sort of one-point games. He’s gotten us out of a few holes in times of injury when you might think you might struggle, but he’s really stepped up to the mark.”

The upcoming Six Nations is Ireland’s prime focus, but Sheehan admits there’s already an eye on the 2027 World Cup.

“I don’t think there’s any point shying away from it or pretending like it’s not happening, so we approach it as every opportunity we have on the pitch is a preparation game for the World Cup, and obviously it’s not like we’re trying new things hope it goes well, it’s making sure we put out a good performance and a winning performance as many times as we can in a row.

“So we’ll be going into the Six Nations with full focus on winning every match and trying to get a Grand Slam, but also with the idea in the back of the head that we want to improve every week coming up to a World Cup to put us in the best position possible.

I think there’s obviously a lot to improve upon (from last year), but I still think we need to have confidence and stay excited about the opportunity ahead of us.

“We need to just make sure that we bring confidence, get around each other and not for one second feel sorry for whatever situation we’re in, whether it be not being favorites or whatever personnel are in the group.

“I’m really excited about the next couple of weeks. The Six Nations is always probably the best couple of months of rugby, you can see it around town, the buzz it creates, it’s massive days out for your friends and families and it’s important that we make sure that we do everything we can in our prep to put a good performance on the weekend because you can see the lift it gives to the country.”

New Optimum Nutrition ambassador Dan Sheehan was speaking at the launch of Optimum Nutrition’s ‘Optimum Advantage’ campaign. For more information visit optimumnutrition.com or check out @optimumnutrition_ie on Instagram.