SHEEH HARD WORK

Grand Slam winner Dan's diligence paying off as he hunts a first trophy with Leinster

- MICHAEL SCULLY

DAN SHEEHAN knows that only a handful of the lads he lined up with in school are still playing rugby now.

The 23-year-old's love of the game runs deep, however, and he admits that whether he was lining out for Lansdowne this weekend or, as he is doing, in a Champions Cup semi-final for Leinster, his sense of anticipation would be the same.

"I'd say in my year in school there are probably only four or five still playing rugby. That's something that's probably surprised me a bit," said Sheehan.

"I think that's something about rugby that might need to be looked at how do we get more people playing? The bubble is quite small.

"I'm fully aware that I'm in the centre of the bubble and everyone I talk to revolves around rugby but it is still quite a small bubble and something we need to do is to grow the sport." The explosive Ireland hooker has enjoyed a meteoric rise, his spectacular burst of pace reminiscent of Sean Cronin, his physicality more akin to South Africa's Malcolm Marx.