Dan Sheehan’s versatility could be an asset ahead of World Cup

Rarely can a selection in Irish rugby have been quite so leftfield or caused quite such a double take. And rarely can one choice have led the debate on Leinster chat groups to such an extent. Dan Sheehan at number eight? There seemed more than a whiff of Rassie Erasmus about it.

The ex-Munster and back-to-back World Cup winning head coach of the Springboks has been ahead of the posse in thinking outside the box, notably 6-2 or 7-1 splits on the bench and the creation of hybrid players such as Deon Fourie or latterly André Esterhuizen.

Fourie is a flanker who Erasmus picked also as a third hooker at the 2023 World Cup, and when Malcolm Marx was forced out of the tournament after their first match with a knee injury, he was replaced by Handrè Pollard. The gamble could be said to have worked when Bongi Mbonambi was injured in the opening five minutes of the final and Fourie played the last 76 minutes at hooker, although the Boks’ lineout struggled, and but for a couple of refereeing decisions history may well have decreed that Erasmus was ultimately too clever for his own good.

But whereas that was more akin to what Leinster are doing with Sheehan against Munster this weekend, Esterhuizen has become a bona fide hybrid player who can be employed in both his customary position of centre but also as a flanker, thus permitting the Boks to employ both a 6-2 and 7-1 split in a given match.

Indeed, in their win over France last year, after their lock Lood de Jager was red carded, Esterhuizen alternated between the backrow and midfield as the Boks won 32-17.

Intrigued by most things Erasmus does, apparently, Fabien Galthié emulated this selection ploy against Ireland in the Aviva Stadium last March when naming the La Rochelle flanker Oscar Jégou as a hybrid in what was ostensibly a 7-1 bench split.

Having lost Antoine Dupont early on, an injury to centre Pierre-Louis Barassi meant Jégou played the last 33 minutes in midfield, but it was no bother to him as France won 42-27. Indeed, Jégou looked a natural.

Sheehan’s selection at number eight does not fall into that category. It appears the primary purpose of making Sheehan a sometime backrower is to have the option of keeping a world-class player on the pitch for 80 minutes, as was the case when Leinster beat Sale in the Champions Cup quarter-final last April.

It is also a handy, in-game contingency plan and one can’t help but wonder if Jacques Nienaber had a hand in this leftfield thinking or, with the World Cup now less than a year away, whether Andy Farrell and/or David Humphreys had a word in Leo Cullen’s ear. Maybe none of that is true and this is entirely Cullen’s idea. Maybe we’ll be told one day. But most likely not.

Unlike against Sale, when Sheehan looked a tad surprised that he and Rónan Kelleher were in the same huddle after the latter had replaced James Ryan, he will have prepared and trained at number eight this week. It is in his remit and in the blood. His brother Bobby, also a hooker with a roving role who is devastating in the wide channels, has started at least 10 AIL games for UCD in the backrow and finished there in many more matches.

To some degree, it is a case of needs must too, given Jack Conan has joined Caelan Doris and James Culhane on the sidelines. But one glaring caveat is that Sheehan’s selection at number eight is not a ringing endorsement of either Alex Soroka, who was also not brought to South Africa, or Josh Ericson, who played both games there in the position.

Ultimately though, Ireland are still no nearer to unearthing a true forward/back hybrid in the manner of Esterhuizen or Jégou, which would be a very handy trick card at the World Cup. Bundee Aki has been employed in the backrow of scrums when his side are a man down and loves to join in an attacking maul. One wouldn’t rule out Ireland’s Swiss Knife, Josh van der Flier, from effectively fulfilling such a role or perhaps Nick Timoney could do so.

But if there is one forward who has the skill, pace, strength and intelligence to double up as a midfielder/winger in an emergency, once again Dan is probably the man.