DAN SHEEHAN HAS always come across as the kind of character who takes things in his stride.
He is determined and resilient, as his path to being named Ireland captain shows, but the 26-year-old also has a calm air about him.
So taking on the captaincy for the first time tomorrow against Wales in the Six Nations hasn’t been causing him too much stress so far. There might be tricky moments out on the pitch in Cardiff but Sheehan is focusing on the pride of being picked for the job as he follows in the footsteps of Johnny Sexton, Peter O’Mahony, and Caelan Doris.
“It’s a massive honour,” said Sheehan after Ireland’s captain’s run at the Principality Stadium this afternoon.
“When I think of the names that are on that list that have went before me, and the last three especially that I have experienced in Caelan, Pete, and Johnny, obviously there are few in there as well with Tadhg, these are sort of role models for me so to be put on the same list is a big deal.
“But I’ve made a point to myself to not think about it too much and take it day by day. I’m very comfortable in the group, it hasn’t got to me too much and I’ve enjoyed the week It’s been nice.
“My phone has been blowing up and sorry if I haven’t got back to anyone yet! We’ve had a great week’s prep and everyone is ready for tomorrow.”
The Irish captaincy is the latest step up for Sheehan and it’s not something he would have imagined back when he was a young fella.
“Dad would have got us in at a very young age, down in Bective,” said Sheehan of his rugby roots.
“As the years went onm I got a bit more serious but it wasn’t until I left school that I really took it seriously and saw that I might have a shot at going in pro. We were always a massive rugby family, it’s all we talked about and we’d be excited going to these games and watching these games on Saturdays, especially Six Nations.
“Kind of weird to look back through the eyes of a child and it’s nice to be here now and I’m absolutely loving everything that has to go with the team and yeah, thrilled to be here.”
Speaking of his youth, the old photos of a four-year-old Sheehan with the late, great Jonah Lomu have been doing the rounds again in recent days.
Sheehan sported the same distinctive haircut as Lomu in those pictures from 2003.
“I actually think it was as simple as a family connection, I think my auntie was in a marketing agency at the time,” said Sheehan of how it came about.
“They needed a kid willing to shave his head and my parents willingly put me forward!
“I have a vague memory of it. I was very young but I remember it being pretty cool. I remember rocking back into school the next day with the haircut and getting a good giggle out of the lads.”
The message Sheehan has been preaching to his team-mates this week is about Ireland’s performance.
A win would mean their tilt at the Grand Slam would pick up even more momentum and Ireland are seen as heavy favourites against a Welsh side who have lost 14 games in a row.
But Sheehan insisted that the outcome isn’t the focus.
“That’s the only thing on my mind, to get a performance,” he said. “We’ve gone well the last two weeks, but only at times and we’ve definitely had patches in the games where we weren’t at our best and there was some areas that we really need to work on to get an 80-minute performance.
“It’s one of the things we’ve been talking about, making sure we start well and then continue that the whole game. All eyes on are tomorrow and there has not been one word talked about any other game. This is massive for us.
“It’s a great stadium to play in. We’ve talked about how passionate the Welsh fans are, or maybe daunting, and how beautiful that stadium is to play rugby in. So everyone is really excited about tomorrow.”
Stopped reading after the first sentence
@my name: thanks for telling us
@Fab John: Thanks for saying, thanks for telling us.
Before this turns into the predictable and at this stage boring tirade of abuse aimed at LA, think about this. You have got your dream job, something you have worked incredibly hard for, say, eg, the top law firm in the country. You’re full of optimism and hope. You begin to notice work colleagues starting work when most people are in bed and leaving when it’s dark. They’re praised for their work by the boss, so gregarious and popular around colleagues, so confident at meetings and at parties with the opposite sex. They’re getting promotion after promotion. They’re successful. And you’re finding yourself stuck at the same desk. One night at a staff party, one of these successful colleagues tells you his secret, take this and you will have it all. That’s what happened to LA…a victim.
@Shane Kelly: oh please, let’s not call him a victim in this ffs. yes it was a culture within cycling, but nobody did it more brazen, more systematic and nobody bullied and abused his position within in his team and within the UCI than him.
@Shane Kelly: that gave me a laugh
@Shane Kelly: Ok, I accept yer points. Yes, to me his biggest crime was when he was outed, he continued to lie, lie and lie. It’s scandalous and unforgivable the way he treated the Andreus and Emily O Reilly. I accept that. Fine, hold him accountable for that. But do not take 7 TdF from him when every other rider in the tour, every winner, even your great Irish heroes were at it. That’s just childish when put into context with pro cycling in general. Childish.
@Shane Kelly: How are things going in the Monastery brother, continue to pray for the those who knew not what they did but please don’t put LA in that category.
@Gerry Ryan deG: Yes, LA goes in that category brother Gerry. LA wasn’t the monster he became when he began cycling. He was faced with a choice, dope or go back to Texas and to God knows what. You and I brother Gerry and any brother or sister out there would have done the same thing. Think of me in your prayers tonight brother.
@Shane Kelly: Ah stop with your anyone would have done the same thing??? or go back to texas??? Paul Kimmage didn’t and went back to Coolock.
@Shane Kelly: are you script writer for the new series of normal people? pure fantasy. the lad was the biggest bully in sport or in any industry, a repeated lier and cheat. Victim maybe if he made one mistake and made amends, what LA did was calculated and toxic throughout his long rain
@Ardmore02: Paul Kimmage has done the sport of cycling a huge service for obvious reasons. He was faced with the choice and made his decision. He will however, never know the elation of winning a stage of the tdf, winning a classic or even a grand tour. There’s a part of him I’m sure that thinks, ‘what if’. What if he’d done what every other rider was doing and continues to do? How far could he have gone? Green jersey? He’d be like Roche and Kelly, that’s what. Venerated!!! A hero!!! And no one would give two bloody hoots.
@Seagoat returns: Nah, I’m not into writing stuff like Lord of the rings or the harry potter. You need to read a few books related to LA and the American Post team. LA should be viewed in two different periods. LA, the hugely talented amateur in the USA and LA, the hugely successful pro cyclist in Europe. I’m not disagreeing with much of what you said, he became a bully and liar. That’s a fact. But why did he become a totally different person from the man who left Texas? He was backed into a corner, forced to dope or go home. A victim of the system. If you call that as good as writing about ‘my precious’, fair enough. But it’s the hard truth.
@Shane Kelly: go watch the clip on YouTube where he tries to publicly destroy Paul Kimmage for doing his job. Walsh and Kimmage as well as others were taken to court and came close to losing their jobs and careers. I’ve seen Armstrong described as a psychopaths I agree.
Armstrong is the picture perfect narcissist.
Even after admitting to cheating, he’s still in denial.
@Colm O’Sullivan: Most people are narcissists today, selfies?? Google LA and Oprah. I think it’s fairly clear he admitted everything way back then.
Armstrong would ride his granny if he thought it would give him an advantage.
@kieran lynch: Just LA? High achievers don’t reach the pinnacle of their profession by playing nice guys or gals. But I think they’d draw the line at their grandmother.
Cheats disrespect the very sport they participate in. Who even watches the cycling tours anymore. Not me anyway. As soon as I see cycling I automatically switch channel away from eurosport. Lance had a lot to do with this decision. Most rational people know its full of cheats and turn off. The same has happened in athletics. Very few watch any more with the same level of interest as most likely doping is going on. Most world records in Athletics should probably be removed from the record books post 1986. So cheats ruin it for everyone and I would have no respect for anyone that cheats and would avoid them at all costs. Cheating is one of the worst things about humanity but unfortunately its an epidemic in some sports.
@Imagine !: There is performance enhancing drugs used in every single sport and to deny that is irrational. So what are you going to do, go shopping in IKEA with the missus for the rest of your life? July won’t be the same without the TdF, the greatest spectator sport on Earth!! imho of course.
@Imagine !: not some sports! ALL SPORTS! Your seriously naive to think only a few sports have drug cheats! Its rampant worldwide in all sports! Don’t be using cycling as an example when every sports at it, and I’d be checking viewing figures about not many people watching it anymore, one of the most watched sports in the world now
@Shane Kelly: Totally agree with the tdf being the greatest spectator sport. amazing atmosphere when there are 1000′s of fans lining the roads millimetres from the riders.
Someone said decline in viewing numbers. Did you just pluck that one from the sky?. 3.5 billion ppeople tuned in to last year’s edition worldwide and 12 million lines the road.
Hardly a decrease in viewers now.
Anyone know where I could watch this?? Nwtdlix or Amazon?
@The Great Cornholio: Nwtdlix definitely won’t have it.