Latest news with #DanSheehan
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Sheehan says Lions are hungry for Australia whitewash
Dan Sheehan has claimed the British and Irish Lions have all the motivation they need to whitewash Australia while delivering their finest performance on tour. Now that the celebrations for securing an unassailable 2-0 series lead have subsided, the Lions have hardened their resolve to sign off their Southern Hemisphere expedition with a 100 per cent record. If they triumph at Sydney's Accor Stadium on Saturday, they will become the first Lions side in almost a century to win every Test. Rainy one at training today in Sydney 🌧️🦁#Lions2025 — British & Irish Lions (@lionsofficial) July 30, 2025 A dramatic 29-26 victory in Melbourne has placed Andy Farrell's men on the brink of greatness, but Sheehan admits the review of the second Test was "not pretty watching for a lot of it". "It would be disappointing if we didn't show up on Saturday," the Ireland hooker said. "It would be different if the series was in the balance, but we've always been pretty clear on our goals - to go unbeaten overseas and win the series 3-0. So we just need to stick to what we said. "There are a lot of people who have put a lot of effort into travelling out for this game and a lot of our families will be here as well, so there's plenty of motivation. And I can only imagine what the Australians are feeling now as well. "We are searching for an 80-minute performance this weekend. The people and the talent we have are crazy. We just need to get them all working. "There's also an individual onus on how you show up to a game - myself included because there are a few moments in the second Test when you're wondering what you were doing. We can be a lot better, definitely in that first half. "But that's part of rugby. It's such an imperfect game that you've got to get over those moments pretty quick. And you get another chance on Saturday, hopefully." Farrell names his team on Thursday and must decide to what extent fresh legs are needed following two bruising Tests against the Wallabies, but the indications from the management are that the strongest possible XV will be fielded. That rules out rotation for anything other than those players who are running on empty, which could include flankers Tom Curry and Tadhg Beirne after their lung-busting shifts in Brisbane and Melbourne. Second rower Joe McCarthy, centre Sione Tuipulotu and winger Mack Hansen all come into contention after recovering the injuries that forced them to miss the second Test. If he has fully proved his fitness by Thursday, Hansen has an especially strong chance of being involved given wingers James Lowe and Tommy Freeman have yet to impress in the series. Blair Kinghorn is also an option to start. Sheehan's excellent form will see him continue at hooker and the 26-year-old will continue to find novel ways to unlock defences after his 'superman' try from close range during the second Test. "I took the first free-kick and got absolutely melted trying to go low. Then for the second one I just thought 'if I have a dive here...'," he said. "I didn't know if they had anyone in the back. It was just a throw and hope and I slipped through. I can see all the controversy about it, but I did know that you can dive in the air if you score."
Perth Now
6 hours ago
- Sport
- Perth Now
Sheehan says Lions are hungry for Australia whitewash
Dan Sheehan has claimed the British and Irish Lions have all the motivation they need to whitewash Australia while delivering their finest performance on tour. Now that the celebrations for securing an unassailable 2-0 series lead have subsided, the Lions have hardened their resolve to sign off their Southern Hemisphere expedition with a 100 per cent record. If they triumph at Sydney's Accor Stadium on Saturday, they will become the first Lions side in almost a century to win every Test. A dramatic 29-26 victory in Melbourne has placed Andy Farrell's men on the brink of greatness, but Sheehan admits the review of the second Test was "not pretty watching for a lot of it". "It would be disappointing if we didn't show up on Saturday," the Ireland hooker said. "It would be different if the series was in the balance, but we've always been pretty clear on our goals - to go unbeaten overseas and win the series 3-0. So we just need to stick to what we said. "There are a lot of people who have put a lot of effort into travelling out for this game and a lot of our families will be here as well, so there's plenty of motivation. And I can only imagine what the Australians are feeling now as well. "We are searching for an 80-minute performance this weekend. The people and the talent we have are crazy. We just need to get them all working. "There's also an individual onus on how you show up to a game - myself included because there are a few moments in the second Test when you're wondering what you were doing. We can be a lot better, definitely in that first half. "But that's part of rugby. It's such an imperfect game that you've got to get over those moments pretty quick. And you get another chance on Saturday, hopefully." Farrell names his team on Thursday and must decide to what extent fresh legs are needed following two bruising Tests against the Wallabies, but the indications from the management are that the strongest possible XV will be fielded. That rules out rotation for anything other than those players who are running on empty, which could include flankers Tom Curry and Tadhg Beirne after their lung-busting shifts in Brisbane and Melbourne. Second rower Joe McCarthy, centre Sione Tuipulotu and winger Mack Hansen all come into contention after recovering the injuries that forced them to miss the second Test. If he has fully proved his fitness by Thursday, Hansen has an especially strong chance of being involved given wingers James Lowe and Tommy Freeman have yet to impress in the series. Blair Kinghorn is also an option to start. Sheehan's excellent form will see him continue at hooker and the 26-year-old will continue to find novel ways to unlock defences after his 'superman' try from close range during the second Test. "I took the first free-kick and got absolutely melted trying to go low. Then for the second one I just thought 'if I have a dive here...'," he said. "I didn't know if they had anyone in the back. It was just a throw and hope and I slipped through. I can see all the controversy about it, but I did know that you can dive in the air if you score."
Powys County Times
9 hours ago
- Sport
- Powys County Times
Lions hooker Dan Sheehan insists all eyes are on series whitewash over Australia
Dan Sheehan insists the British and Irish Lions have all the motivation they need to whitewash Australia while delivering their finest performance on tour. Now that the celebrations for securing an unassailable 2-0 series lead have subsided, the Lions have hardened their resolve to sign off their expedition Down Under with a 100 per cent record. If they triumph at Sydney's Accor Stadium on Saturday, they will become the first Lions side in almost a century to win every Test. History made 🦁 #Lions2025 — British & Irish Lions (@lionsofficial) July 26, 2025 A dramatic 29-26 victory in Melbourne has placed Andy Farrell's men on the brink of greatness, but Sheehan admits the review of the second Test was 'not pretty watching for a lot of it'. 'It would be disappointing if we didn't show up on Saturday,' the Ireland hooker said. 'It would be different if the series was in the balance, but we've always been pretty clear on our goals – to go unbeaten overseas and win the series 3-0. So we just need to stick to what we said. 'There are a lot of people who have put a lot of effort into travelling out for this game and a lot of our families will be here as well, so there's plenty of motivation. And I can only imagine what the Australians are feeling now as well. 'We are searching for an 80-minute performance this weekend. The people and the talent we have are crazy. We just need to get them all working. 'There's also an individual onus on how you show up to a game – myself included because there are a few moments in the second Test when you're wondering what you were doing. We can be a lot better, definitely in that first half. 'But that's part of rugby. It's such an imperfect game that you've got to get over those moments pretty quick. And you get another chance on Saturday, hopefully.' Farrell names his team on Thursday and must decide to what extent fresh legs are needed following two bruising Tests against the Wallabies, but the indications from the management are that the strongest possible XV will be fielded. That rules out rotation for anything other than those players who are running on empty, which could include flankers Tom Curry and Tadhg Beirne after their lung-busting shifts in Brisbane and Melbourne. Second row Joe McCarthy, centre Sione Tuipulotu and wing Mack Hansen all come into contention after recovering the injuries that forced them to miss the second Test. If he has fully proved his fitness by Thursday, Hansen has an especially strong chance of being involved given wings James Lowe and Tommy Freeman have yet to impress in the series. Blair Kinghorn is also an option to start. Sheehan's excellent form will see him continue at hooker and the 26-year-old will continue to find novel ways to unlock defences after his 'superman' try from close range during the second Test. 'I took the first free-kick and got absolutely melted trying to go low. Then for the second one I just thought 'if I have a dive here…',' he said. 'I didn't know if they had anyone in the back. It was just a throw and hope and I slipped through. I can see all the controversy about it, but I did know that you can dive in the air if you score.'
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Lions hooker Dan Sheehan insists all eyes are on series whitewash over Australia
Dan Sheehan insists the British and Irish Lions have all the motivation they need to whitewash Australia while delivering their finest performance on tour. Now that the celebrations for securing an unassailable 2-0 series lead have subsided, the Lions have hardened their resolve to sign off their expedition Down Under with a 100 per cent record. If they triumph at Sydney's Accor Stadium on Saturday, they will become the first Lions side in almost a century to win every Test. A dramatic 29-26 victory in Melbourne has placed Andy Farrell's men on the brink of greatness, but Sheehan admits the review of the second Test was 'not pretty watching for a lot of it'. 'It would be disappointing if we didn't show up on Saturday,' the Ireland hooker said. 'It would be different if the series was in the balance, but we've always been pretty clear on our goals – to go unbeaten overseas and win the series 3-0. So we just need to stick to what we said. 'There are a lot of people who have put a lot of effort into travelling out for this game and a lot of our families will be here as well, so there's plenty of motivation. And I can only imagine what the Australians are feeling now as well. 'We are searching for an 80-minute performance this weekend. The people and the talent we have are crazy. We just need to get them all working. 'There's also an individual onus on how you show up to a game – myself included because there are a few moments in the second Test when you're wondering what you were doing. We can be a lot better, definitely in that first half. 'But that's part of rugby. It's such an imperfect game that you've got to get over those moments pretty quick. And you get another chance on Saturday, hopefully.' Farrell names his team on Thursday and must decide to what extent fresh legs are needed following two bruising Tests against the Wallabies, but the indications from the management are that the strongest possible XV will be fielded. That rules out rotation for anything other than those players who are running on empty, which could include flankers Tom Curry and Tadhg Beirne after their lung-busting shifts in Brisbane and Melbourne. Second row Joe McCarthy, centre Sione Tuipulotu and wing Mack Hansen all come into contention after recovering the injuries that forced them to miss the second Test. If he has fully proved his fitness by Thursday, Hansen has an especially strong chance of being involved given wings James Lowe and Tommy Freeman have yet to impress in the series. Blair Kinghorn is also an option to start. Sheehan's excellent form will see him continue at hooker and the 26-year-old will continue to find novel ways to unlock defences after his 'superman' try from close range during the second Test. 'I took the first free-kick and got absolutely melted trying to go low. Then for the second one I just thought 'if I have a dive here…',' he said. 'I didn't know if they had anyone in the back. It was just a throw and hope and I slipped through. I can see all the controversy about it, but I did know that you can dive in the air if you score.'
RTÉ News
10 hours ago
- Sport
- RTÉ News
'Why not?' - Dan Sheehan recounts his 'throw and hope' Lions try
If it hadn't been for 'the incident', we may have been talking a lot more about Dan Sheehan's try in Saturday's nail-biting second Test between the Lions and Australia. Sheehan scored the first of the Lions' five tries in the 29-26 thriller at the MCG when he dived over from a five-metre penalty, a score which angered the Australians at the time. Having taken a similar penalty and met a brick wall moments earlier, Sheehan took a different approach the second time around, diving over the attempted tackles of David Porecki and James Slipper and in for the try, one which exploited a grey area in rugby's lawbook. While it's illegal to jump into or over a tackle, in 2022 World Rugby clarified that it is legal to dive "in order to score a try". Essentially, the threshold for attempting to score a try is down to the interpretation of a referee. "I can see all the controversy about it, but I did know that you can dive in the air if you score," Sheehan said, when asked about the mechanics of the situation this week. "I feel like I was at full stretch and landed over the line so why not? "I took the first one [penalty] and I got absolutely melted trying to go low. "Usually, it's one lad goes low and someone maybe is high and I just got both shoulders melted low and I didn't really get much out of it. "Then the second one I just thought: 'If I have a dive here...' I didn't know if they had anyone in the back. It was just a throw and hope and I slipped through." It was interesting to note on Sunday how Jack Conan referenced too often coming out on the wrong side of those kind of games, both for Leinster and Ireland, and Sheehan, who was off the pitch at the time, admitted to having similar thoughts as the final minutes played out at the MCG. "I was sitting there beside Tadhg [Furlong] and he looked at me and I looked at him. He was like: 'How many times have we been sitting on this bench in this situation and we've never won a game?' And it was tough. It's almost harder watching it sometimes. "When you're on the pitch you're so focused and you don't let your mind wander but when you're sitting on the bench it's out of your control. "Obviously, the bench were doing a great job, which was nice to see, but it was something that felt like a fan in some ways. You're so engulfed in what you're seeing. "But it's probably almost more enjoyable watching it happen and being able to celebrate." It was a few hours after the final whistle before the team bus eventually made it out of the MCG, as the players did their best to soak up every ounce of their win. An hour after the game, the players even took one last trip back out onto the pitch and sat around the centre circle, something the Australian cricketers would often do after wins at The G. They didn't last long out there, with the ground staff busy preparing the pitch for an AFL game the next day, but it was the highlight of the weekend for Sheehan. "I think the excitement around the group and those few hours with the lads after the game, they're always my favourite sort of moments. "We probably stuck around the MCG for far too long, but it was definitely memories that will last a lifetime and I think everyone's sort of celebrated enough now. Taking it all in... #Lions2025 🦁 — British & Irish Lions (@lionsofficial) July 28, 2025 "I was literally just about to jump in the shower. I had the shorts off and everything, and then Jamo [Jamison Gibson-Park] was like, 'We're out'. "So, we all got out and circled up, and I don't think the MCG were very happy with us on the cricket crease, but we're having scrums on the cricket crease, so we might as well sit down on a chair. "You can see the photos. It's something special. Everyone's singing songs in a group and it's just us, and it's sort of a moment to reflect on the journey. "It's been long enough since we've been out here, when you look back at Perth and that first meet up. So, yeah, it was nice to celebrate it." Being able to enjoy the win with family has been all the more special. Andy Farrell has always placed a big emphasis on having the players' families close by during his time as Ireland coach, and that has been followed through with the Lions. Before the first Test, players were presented with their jerseys by their families in a special ceremony at Brisbane's Botanical Garden, while after last week's Test at the MCG the players had their partners, wives and children with them on the pitch to share the moment. And the 26-year-old has credited his head coach Farrell for how he's stitched the squad together, and maintained a happy camp. "He [Farrell] says you should never feel guilty for having a smile on your face and I think it can be quite daunting coming into these big squads. "I remember coming into Ireland for the first time and you feel like you need to be serious all the time. Then you're in the first meeting and he's like, 'Don't ever feel guilty for having a smile on your face. That's when people are most productive and they feel most comfortable'. "There is a big focus on enjoyment and outside, off the pitch, during the week, I think it makes for easier preparation when you feel like you're enjoying it. "I think he understands that a lot of lads' motivation is their family and it's definitely mine. If I'm ever asked it, it's always about my family and what it gives them and the experiences it can give them. "That was obviously special last week before the first Test, having my old man present me my jersey, which was the first time that's happened. "He [Farrell] knows how to push people's buttons and he definitely knows how to get the best out of people and families are always a big part."
