Dan Sheehan: We're underdogs now but no end to Irish talent

Dan Sheehan, already a world-class hooker, is developing into the most impressive public voice in the Irish dressing room.

New Optimum Nutrition ambassador Dan Sheehan at the launch of their 'Optimum Advantage' campaign. Pic: Leo Francis/Inpho

Doom and gloom? Maybe not quite, but there was a layer of trepidation sitting like a mist on the four green fields as Andy Farrell revealed his hand on Wednesday for a Six Nations campaign that will see Ireland tackle Paris and London in the first three weeks.

Defeats in the last 15 months to New Zealand (twice), South Africa, France and England have confirmed the team’s slippage from the heights of 2022 when they were the equal of the game’s heavyweights. The next two months are huge for this team.