On Monday Leinster Rugby posted an image on their website that not only told a story but could also have been interpreted as a depiction of intent. Simple enough, the photograph was of Rónan Kelleher, the Leinster and Ireland hooker, squatting weights in the gym.
He is low in the movement and across the back of his neck hang four unforgiving plates of metal on either side. Whether the bar is bending or not is a moot point. It looks like it is. The messaging, though, is clear.
Kelleher’s body is not only back together but strong and this week he begins the process of winning back hearts and minds, firstly in Leinster with Leo Cullen and then in the Irish camp with Andy Farrell.
It is a welcome return for the 24-year-old, who missed out on the entire November series with a hamstring injury. That came on the back of him damaging his shoulder in the Heineken Champions Cup final defeat to La Rochelle at the end of last season.
The injury didn’t recover in time to earn a seat on the plane for a successful tour to New Zealand in the summer, which killed stone dead his momentum at international level.
Kelleher had been outstanding in the previous November win over the All Blacks, scoring a try and being an overall significant contributor as part of the all-singing, all-dancing front row. In his absence Connacht’s Dave Heffernan joined Dan Sheehan and Rob Herring on the plane as part of a 40-man New Zealand squad.
But the return is expected to spark one of the biggest head to heads for a first team starting place as Ireland begins to look towards next year and the Six Nations Championship because while Kelleher was in recovery, the other 24-year-old in the Irish squad, Sheehan, cemented his place in the middle of the front row.
Kelleher could only watch on as, over the course of the three recent international matches and especially in the brutally physical game against the Springboks, Sheehan’s permanent claim grew louder and louder.
Just how Kelleher makes his challenge will be closely followed. His exciting pace and ability to take up positions in the back line or on the wing gave Ireland another edge in their offensive play. He scored tries too and raised the bar as a mobile front row.
But it has been Sheehan, more than 32-year-old Rob Herring, who reacted and filled the vacuum and is now making it as difficult as possible in the process of reclaiming the shirt. Swings and roundabouts are part of the game but at 6′3′' and 110 kilos, Sheehan has the look of an immovable object.
As Sheehan savours a well-earned break, Kelleher will get an opportunity to impress and squeeze his team-mate over the next month, possibly beginning with Leinster this weekend against Glasgow.
It was less than 18 months ago that Kelleher turned heads when he scored four tries in an experimental Ireland team that romped to a 71-10 win over the United States. In doing so he became the first Irish player since winger Denis Hickie in August 2003 to ground four times in one match.
The only other players to have achieved that feat for Ireland at international level are Belfast number eight Brian Robinson, against Zimbabwe in 1991, and former Irish captain and hooker Keith Wood, against USA in 1999.
Sheehan’s international try count has been more modest with two from 13 matches. But his throwing and loose work around the pitch have been impressive. And, as if to show he can shift his bulk and generate the acceleration to peel off mauls and inject pace, Sheehan also scored four tries in a match for Leinster at the beginning of this season against Benetton.
He also demonstrated a vital go-get attitude as he sprinted for the line against Australia, into a fearsome collision with Rob Valentini. Valentini’s tackle was illegal, but it was Sheehan who stood up and walked away from the clash. His durability is a huge asset.
If Cullen and Farrell had their way, the potentially long rivalry between the young hookers is the kind they would prefer to see in every position, with the arrival back of Ryan Baird this week also a prescription for even more healthy conflict in the pack.
It ends the frustration Kelleher has had to endure since the end of last season. The school’s player, who moved from the backline to the back row and then to prop to become the finished article at hooker, has, judging from the image of him pumping iron in the gym, found his game face again.
