As an aside in a week over-shadowed by Lions selection, it’s interesting to note that this will be the first tour in the professional era not to include an Irish hooker.
Remarkably, Ireland’s amateurs provided three hookers as series captains – Karl Mullen, Ronnie Dawson and Ciaran Fitzgerald.
And, although Jerry Flannery lucklessly missed out through injury despite being the prime candidate in 2009, Irish No 2 jerseys, from Keith Wood through Shane Byrne and Rory Best – himself a midweek captain – have been a regular feature on Lions tours since the inaugural professional jaunt in ’97.
But with Rónan Kelleher and Rob Herring struggling to become number one number twos for their country, neither man was ever threatening to become involved in the recent discussion unless there is an emergency call-up in the offing.
Tonight in Galway, two Irish hookers who have retreated further down the pecking order face off, desperate to retain some semblance of an international future.
Although James Tracy carries more experience than Dave Heffernan, the latter has at least played under Andy Farrell and may hope to do so again this summer in whatever Tests are hastily arranged in Dublin.
“It’d be a massive opportunity if I got selected, but that’s what the next few games are for,” says Heffernan, who won his fifth cap in three years against Georgia late last year.
For Tracy, the disappointment of Leinster’s European loss is a much more immediate focus.
“We’re incredibly hungry. Starting with myself, we’ve got quite a big squad of players and guys who are dying to get an opportunity and put the best foot forward.
“I was part of the loss to Connacht in the RDS this season and you know it hurts, it definitely hurts to lose at home. It has us fired up now that we’ve lost a few games out of that, we want to turn that around and get back to winning ways.”
Verdict: Leinster
Connacht – J Porch; P Sullivan, S O’Brien, T Daly, M Healy; C Fitzgerald, C Blade; D Buckley, D Heffernan, F Bealham; N Murray, G Thornbury; E Masterson, C Oliver, J Butler (capt). Reps: J Murphy, M Burke, D Robertson-McCoy, C Prendergast, A Papali’i, K Marmion, S Arnold, O McNulty.
Leinster – H Keenan; C Kelleher, G Ringrose, C Frawley, D Kearney; R Byrne, L McGrath (capt); P Dooley, J Tracy, A Porter; R Molony, S Fardy; J Murphy, S Penny, J Conan. Reps: D Sheehan, E Byrne, T Furlong, R Baird, J van der Flier, R Osborne, R O’Loughlin, J Larmour
REF – Frank Murphy (IRFU)
Connacht v Leinster,
Live, TG4/eir Sport 1, 7.35