Leader caught on hop by Ireland call

Connacht full-back Darragh Leader presumed it was some of his team-mates having a laugh when Joe Schmidt rang him up this week to tell him he was in the Ireland squad.

The 21-year old from Galway only broke into the Connacht team towards the end of last season and while he has started all seven games for them this season, clearly he wasn’t expecting a call from Schmidt.

And, according to his Connacht skipper John Muldoon, that first phone call did not go along the lines of what might be expected when a national coach rings a rookie with good news.