Oct 16,2024
With just over three weeks to go until Ireland take on New Zealand at the Aviva Stadium, the number two jersey for that meeting with the All Blacks is available for someone to grab it.
Rónan Kelleher is the latest hooker to join the injury list. The Leinster man hasn't officially been ruled out of contention after undergoing a minor ankle procedure last week, but with an estimated four to six weeks rehab projected by his province it would take a perfect recovery for him to be available for that first November Test.
With his provincial team-mate Dan Sheehan ruled out until the new year, and Ulster duo Rob Herring and Tom Stewart still yet to play this season due to respective calf and ankle injuries, Farrell could be without his first four options in the position for the visit of Scott Robertson’s side.
Munster’s Niall Scannell is the most experienced Irish-qualified Test hooker available right now, but won the last of his 20 caps at the 2019 Rugby World Cup, while his last involvement in an Irish squad came as a late call-up on the 2022 tour of New Zealand where he featured against the New Zealand Maori.
His Munster team-mate Diarmuid Barron is a strong contender to be in the squad for the Autumn Nations Series. The 26-year-old featured for Ireland 'A’ in 2022 and has been involved Irish squads in the past, but missed out on a golden opportunity to catch Farrell’s eye due to a concussion picked up just minutes after replacing Scannell in Saturday’s defeat against Leinster.
Another Barron, Leinster’s Lee Barron picked a knock during that game at Croke Park, which is likely to create an opportunity for Gus McCarthy to impress against Connacht on Saturday.
Former Ireland U20 captain McCarthy could be a bolter for a Test debut next month, with the 21-year-old impressing in his early appearances for the province this season, as well as featuring for Emerging Ireland.
With so many injuries to contend with, the likelihood is that Farrell will be banking on experience for their World Cup quarter-final rematch against New Zealand.
With that in mind, the most likely to get the start against the All Blacks in just over three weeks looks like it could be Connacht’s Dave Heffernan.
The 33-year-old has won seven Irish caps since making his debut in 2017 against the USA, the most recent of which was also against New Zealand, making a late appearance off the bench in the first Test defeat in July 2022.
Farrell clearly likes the veteran hooker, and when Sheehan suffered his knee injury in the first Test against South Africa this summer, it was Heffernan who was called in to provide cover in the squad.
As well as having credit in the bank, Heffernan can also make a strong case that he’s been the in-form hooker in Ireland through the opening four rounds of the URC, starting each game for the province and scoring two tries, both of which came in the 36-30 win against the Sharks in Galway.
"I'm delighted for Dave that he's found that form and that fitness because going back 18 months he was finding it difficult in terms of getting a rhythm into his season," head coach Pete Wilkins said.
In the 2022/23 season it looked as if the former back row had fallen behind Dylan Tierney-Martin in the province’s depth chart at hooker, and had been overlooked in the wider Irish squads.
But the former Blackrock College man regained his starting spot last season, bringing up his 200th game for Connacht in the final game of the campaign.
And Wilkins believes that form isn’t going unnoticed by the Ireland coaching staff.
"He worked so hard to come back from a couple of injuries he had and I think he's getting a reward for that now, so I'm delighted for him, delighted for us because he's obviously an important player, over 200 caps.
"And it's an interesting situation with the Irish hookers at the moment, they've been hit with a couple of injuries there and obviously Dave has put himself in the conversation, he was obviously flown out to South Africa as a late call-up in the summer there and certainly the feedback from that was very positive.
"I'm pleased that he's in the conversation and obviously this game between us and Leinster at the weekend will be another factor in how that progresses," he added.
