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Ireland confirm replacement for hooker Dan Sheehan
By PA
Uncapped hooker Diarmuid Barron has travelled with the Ireland squad in the absence of the injured Dan Sheehan ahead of Saturday’s match against Samoa in Bayonne.
Sheehan has remained in Dublin to rehabilitate the foot problem he sustained in the first half of Saturday’s 29-10 win over England.
Head coach Andy Farrell, who will name his final 33-man World Cup selection next Monday, is still waiting to discover the full extent of Sheehan’s issue.
Barron has been part of his country’s training camp this summer and joins fellow number twos Rob Herring, Ronan Kelleher and Tom Stewart in Farrell’s squad for the weekend.
The 25-year-old Munster player came on as a replacement for Ireland A in a 47-19 loss to an All Blacks XV in November.
Ireland flew to south-west France on Sunday in preparation for their final warm-up match and trained at Stade Jean-Dauger in Bayonne on Monday morning.
Back-rower Jack Conan, who suffered a foot injury against Italy on August 5, and prop Dave Kilcoyne, who has a hamstring issue, also remained in Dublin.
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Latest Comments
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Nothing to stew son.
Go to commentsTupaea is a natural 12. What is it with you kiwis and playing players out of their positions. Is that some sort of national sport? Is that on purpose? You’ve got an utility back and a winger at 12 and 13 respectivelly. You played Savea at 8 for ages, wasting the potential of one of the world’s three best players in the last 4-5 years.
ALB is equally effective at 12 and 13, so why not have him or Tupaea at 12, and Proctor at 13? God forbid you’d have two midfielders playing at their natural positions! There must be a law in New Zealand, that prohibits that. Small sample size, but Proctor walked on water in his international debut at 13.
But the kiwi selectors seem to love Rieko’s speed, so as long as the horse is fast enough, they decided they’ll teach him to climb trees anyway.
You don’t have a better 10 than BB and Mo’unga. DMac is a more instinctive attacker (almost as good as Mo’unga … almost), but doesn’t have BB’s game-controlling skills. You have and will lose games due to his aimless kicking and spur-of-the-moment inventions none of his team mates are able to read at the international pace. Works okay at Super Rugby level, doesn’t mean it’s transferable to test matches. But hey, suit yourself.
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