'They're leading the way they want to lead' - Bundee Aki on Caelan Doris and Dan  Sheehan

“They're unbelievable, aren't they? I think Caelan's an unbelievable leader, Dan Sheehan, you saw him, how he leads and the way he plays. I think they're just growing."

LEADING THEIR OWN WAY: Bundee Aki praises Caelan Doris and Dan Sheehan leadership. Picture: ©INPHO/Nick Elliott

There is no denting Bundee Aki’s positivity for this Ireland team, despite the mood music around Andy Farrell’s squad. Having opened this international window with a dramatic fall-off in defeat to New Zealand in Chicago, even the comeback victory over Japan seven days later was described from inside the camp as “underwhelming”.

From the outside it appears there is something of a post-Lions hangover for a group containing 17 of the 18 Irishmen, including Aki, who toured Australia in the summer, and one compounded by the absence of recently retired stalwarts such as Cian Healy, Conor Murray and Peter O’Mahony.