LEINSTER BOSS LEO Cullen hailed the impact of skipper Dan Sheehan after the first-time number eight got through a busy night of work in the province’s bonus-point win over Munster.
28-year-old Sheehan is one of the leading hookers in the game, but after a couple of brief appearances as a flanker for Leinster last season, he started in the number eight shirt for Leinster’s 24-18 victory at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday.
Sheehan was the top ball-carrier in the game with 17 carries, showing off his usual dynamism despite the change of position.
It will be interesting to see if Leinster continue with the experiment this season, and whether Ireland head coach Andy Farrell looks at the tactic, which allowed Rónan Kelleher to start against Munster rather than backing Sheehan up off the bench.
Sheehan started at number eight with Caelan Doris and Jack Conan sidelined due to injuries that have also ruled them out of Ireland’s upcoming Nations Championship campaign.
Whatever happens next, Cullen was happy with Sheehan’s impact against Munster.
“I thought he was very, very good,” said Cullen, whose team moved up to sixth in the URC table after their success against Munster.
“In terms of carrying the fight in the game, which is, you know, getting his hands on the ball in attack and being hungry to make hits defensively as well.
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“Because when he’s playing eight, he’s in the middle of the field a lot more. Quite often the hookers end up on the edge quite a bit.
“I thought Dan was excellent there. And two of the hookers, Rónan and Gus [McCarthy], when he came on, Gus had a great 20 minutes when he got on as well. So, yeah, positive day for hookers.”
Sheehan carries the ball for Leinster. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
Leinster trailed 13-0 after 30 minutes of the clash in Dublin but, having got back to 13-5 by half-time, they accelerated in the second half to notch their bonus-point success.
A year on from Munster’s stirring win in Croke Park, the Leinster head coach was happy to see his players managing a challenging night with poise.
“It was good composure, wasn’t it?” said Cullen. “They’re always unbelievably fiercely contested derby games. Munster, I thought, were good in the contact area, probably a little bit better than us in the first half, both sides of the ball.
“I was like, ‘Oh, is this going to be a bit like it was last year in Croke Park?’ But I thought the players showed good composure to come back and get a try. And we started getting a little bit of an ascendancy, but then we would give away a turnover.
“You had to carry into that breeze. Obviously, it’s tricky enough conditions, the way it looked, certainly from the wind point of view. So you’re going to have to carry; you’re going to have to roll your sleeves up in the first half.
“There were a couple of times we were just a little bit off, gave away turnovers, and that gives Munster life. But the message really at half-time was ‘just stick to it’ and make sure they enjoy themselves. And keep pounding away.
“Listen, for most of the half, I think we’ve dominated territory and possession, play the game in the right areas of the field. Scrum gets dominant, which is good as well. And Munster, I thought they’re hanging in. They’re giving away penalties, a lot of penalties. And eventually someone goes to the bin. Obviously, they’ve been warned prior to that.
“So, yeah, the composure is good. The players stick to it, which is big. This time last year, we were poor when we got ourselves in that position. We made life more difficult for ourselves; we weren’t clinical, not so much more clinical in the second half [today].
“But Munster brought a huge amount to the contest, didn’t they? We had to find a way out there today in difficult conditions. So, yeah, pleased to get a win, bonus point.
And we move on.”
Joey Carbery made his first start since rejoining Leinster. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
Leinster have a visit to Connacht next Friday to look forward to now, with Cullen set to ring the changes as a large group of his squad get set to head away on Ireland duty.
Joey Carbery isn’t part of that Ireland squad for November, but he returned to Leinster’s number 10 shirt against his old side in Dublin.
Jamie Osborne, who was among Leinster’s try-scorers, said Carbery has been a welcome presence since rejoining the province during the summer.
“Yeah, it’s been unreal to have him,” said Osborne.
“Obviously he brings so much experience from his time in Leinster beforehand, Munster and Bordeaux. So, you know, he’s a two-time European winner, and he’s brought a lot of that sort of stuff to us, and it’s a pleasure playing with him.”
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'Very, very good' - Leinster happy with Sheehan's first outing at 8
LEINSTER BOSS LEO Cullen hailed the impact of skipper Dan Sheehan after the first-time number eight got through a busy night of work in the province’s bonus-point win over Munster.
28-year-old Sheehan is one of the leading hookers in the game, but after a couple of brief appearances as a flanker for Leinster last season, he started in the number eight shirt for Leinster’s 24-18 victory at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday.
Sheehan was the top ball-carrier in the game with 17 carries, showing off his usual dynamism despite the change of position.
It will be interesting to see if Leinster continue with the experiment this season, and whether Ireland head coach Andy Farrell looks at the tactic, which allowed Rónan Kelleher to start against Munster rather than backing Sheehan up off the bench.
Sheehan started at number eight with Caelan Doris and Jack Conan sidelined due to injuries that have also ruled them out of Ireland’s upcoming Nations Championship campaign.
Whatever happens next, Cullen was happy with Sheehan’s impact against Munster.
“I thought he was very, very good,” said Cullen, whose team moved up to sixth in the URC table after their success against Munster.
“In terms of carrying the fight in the game, which is, you know, getting his hands on the ball in attack and being hungry to make hits defensively as well.
“Because when he’s playing eight, he’s in the middle of the field a lot more. Quite often the hookers end up on the edge quite a bit.
“I thought Dan was excellent there. And two of the hookers, Rónan and Gus [McCarthy], when he came on, Gus had a great 20 minutes when he got on as well. So, yeah, positive day for hookers.”
Leinster trailed 13-0 after 30 minutes of the clash in Dublin but, having got back to 13-5 by half-time, they accelerated in the second half to notch their bonus-point success.
A year on from Munster’s stirring win in Croke Park, the Leinster head coach was happy to see his players managing a challenging night with poise.
“It was good composure, wasn’t it?” said Cullen. “They’re always unbelievably fiercely contested derby games. Munster, I thought, were good in the contact area, probably a little bit better than us in the first half, both sides of the ball.
“I was like, ‘Oh, is this going to be a bit like it was last year in Croke Park?’ But I thought the players showed good composure to come back and get a try. And we started getting a little bit of an ascendancy, but then we would give away a turnover.
“You had to carry into that breeze. Obviously, it’s tricky enough conditions, the way it looked, certainly from the wind point of view. So you’re going to have to carry; you’re going to have to roll your sleeves up in the first half.
“There were a couple of times we were just a little bit off, gave away turnovers, and that gives Munster life. But the message really at half-time was ‘just stick to it’ and make sure they enjoy themselves. And keep pounding away.
“Listen, for most of the half, I think we’ve dominated territory and possession, play the game in the right areas of the field. Scrum gets dominant, which is good as well. And Munster, I thought they’re hanging in. They’re giving away penalties, a lot of penalties. And eventually someone goes to the bin. Obviously, they’ve been warned prior to that.
“So, yeah, the composure is good. The players stick to it, which is big. This time last year, we were poor when we got ourselves in that position. We made life more difficult for ourselves; we weren’t clinical, not so much more clinical in the second half [today].
“But Munster brought a huge amount to the contest, didn’t they? We had to find a way out there today in difficult conditions. So, yeah, pleased to get a win, bonus point.
And we move on.”
Leinster have a visit to Connacht next Friday to look forward to now, with Cullen set to ring the changes as a large group of his squad get set to head away on Ireland duty.
Joey Carbery isn’t part of that Ireland squad for November, but he returned to Leinster’s number 10 shirt against his old side in Dublin.
Jamie Osborne, who was among Leinster’s try-scorers, said Carbery has been a welcome presence since rejoining the province during the summer.
“Yeah, it’s been unreal to have him,” said Osborne.
“Obviously he brings so much experience from his time in Leinster beforehand, Munster and Bordeaux. So, you know, he’s a two-time European winner, and he’s brought a lot of that sort of stuff to us, and it’s a pleasure playing with him.”
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Dan Sheehan dynamic Leinster Leo Cullen October URC