Sean Cronin gives Joe Schmidt something to chew on

Sean Cronin has shipped a few blows lately.

A mistimed tackle against Exeter Chiefs earlier this month left his two front gnashers looking like a set of Alpine peaks but it was the omission from Joe Schmidt’s Ireland squad for the November internationals that was the real kick in the teeth.

“I haven’t spoken to him since November,” he says of the Ireland coach. “At the time it was just that he thought that I didn’t hit the ground running at the start of the season, which was probably fair enough, and other guys had played well.