“We’re one step behind now, but the tournament is definitely not out of reach.”
France beat Ireland 30-24 in Paris, but young Leinster hooker Dan Sheehan took some plaudits for a late intervention that could prove crucial.
The 24-year-old reflected on his impressive performance at the Stade de France after coming on midway through the first half on Saturday. The defeat leaves Ireland in third place as France rise to the top of The Six Nations table.
Sheehan played a big part in Ireland at least getting a losing bonus point for their efforts, and he still has his sights set on a first title since 2018.
Dan Sheehan on the mentality playing for Ireland
“On the bench, you’re doing a job. You’re following the way the game is going so you know how it feels so that when you get on you should be straight into the flow of things.”
Ireland’s narrow defeat to France leaves them out of the running for the Grand Slam. However, they are still in contention for the top spot and have Italy up next, in Dublin.
“We’re one step behind now, but the tournament is definitely not out of reach. I think it’s about focusing straight on Italy. We have two weeks leading up to it and we have to take full advantage of that game, make sure we’re firing on all cylinders.”
“We have to take the learnings from that. There were a number of things we could have done differently.”
Dan Sheehan’s try-saving tackle
As Melvyn Jaminet powered over the line, the French player was about to dot the ball down, until Sheehan put his body between the ball and ground to stop what looked like a certain try. On that tackle, he said:
“I suppose when you know he’s going to be over the line, by that time you have to get your hand on the ball. If I go for his waist, there’s no point. In that situation you know you have to get at least something on the ball and then it’s just to wrap as tight as you can. I think it’s just natural instinct.”
“When that decision about the (Jaminet) try was being made, we sat under the posts, took a breath, and came up with a plan to get the ball back.”
“Then from there we were getting into our flow, and in the heat of the moment maybe we made some slightly wrong decisions, but I guess we just need to learn from it and hope that we can get it right next time,” Sheehan concluded.
Wow.
Potentially a huge moment!
Dan Sheehan prevents a late French try!#FRAvIRE #GuinnessSixNations pic.twitter.com/f9VmD5hCOd
— Virgin Media Sport (@VMSportIE) February 12, 2022
Dan Sheehan acquitted himself well in Paris and will now be pushing Rónan Kelleher hard for the No.2 jersey in the next game out.
