Dougall rues missing Wallace magnetism

New Munster signing Sean Dougall has just one regret — and it’s that he won’t get the chance to line up alongside a man he regards as one of the modern greats of back-row play, the recently retired back-rower David Wallace.

The 22-year-old recruit from Rotherham holds up Wallace — forced into retirement at the back end of last season — as one of three iconic figures whose careers have greatly influenced him and mentions him in the same breath as New Zealand skipper Richie McCaw and Australia’s David Pocock.

From age 14, Dougall has made open side his preferred position, noting, for instance, that he would hate to be stuck in the front row even if it suited his physical make up.