Gran the biggest fan as high-flying Dan Leavy on cloud nine

Dan Leavy may be the man of the moment but the Leinster and Ireland flanker was keen to spread the love in the wake of his starring Champions Cup quarter-final performance against Saracens in Dublin.

Most sportspeople tend to name-check team-mates or coaches after the final whistle. The St Michael’s graduate cast his net far wider. All the way to Mullingar where his grandmother Joan Leavy was celebrating his man-of-the-match performance and her own 96th birthday.

There is no rugby tradition in the Leavy family, but the support from kin has been constant.