Devin Toner: Stooping to conquer

All great players have presence. The mere fact they share a dressing room offers confidence and surety to everyone in close proximity.

For different reasons Devin Toner has enjoyed a presence that is hard to miss. The first time I came across him, doing a pre-match television interview on the sideline of a Leinster Pro 12 game at the RDS a few years ago, I remember feeling very small.

That is not an everyday occurrence for a former international second row but, despite taking on a few pretty sizeable opponents myself, I never felt so minute. He really is monstrous. At 6’11” and weighing in at over 19st he is, by a stretch if you’ll pardon the pun, the biggest man to ever play rugby for Ireland.