{"id":662951,"date":"2026-10-23T08:36:12","date_gmt":"2026-10-23T08:36:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/662951\/"},"modified":"2026-10-23T08:36:12","modified_gmt":"2026-10-23T08:36:12","slug":"there-could-be-carnage-in-dublin-ian-madigan-and-alan-quinlan-on-leinster-v-munster-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/662951\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018There could be carnage in Dublin\u2019: Ian Madigan and Alan Quinlan on Leinster v Munster \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

So it\u2019s front to back for Dan Sheehan<\/a> in terms of his position in the pack on Saturday for Leinster<\/a> against Munster<\/a>. It\u2019s a headline move from Leo Cullen<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And it stirs memories of the start of the 2005\/06 Celtic League season for Alan Quinlan. Declan Kidney wanted all his Munster forward Gal\u00e1cticos on the pitch, so he played some of them as backs.<\/p>\n

In the province\u2019s opening game, openside David Wallace was selected on the wing. Munster beat Border Reivers 9-7.<\/p>\n

Wallace returned to his usual backrow berth against Ospreys, but Kidney also wanted Denis Leamy to start as he needed game time. The flanker was named at outside centre, where he also started a fortnight later against Scarlets. Munster won again, but the experiment was abandoned.<\/p>\n

\u201cKidney wanted to have Alan Quinlan, Anthony Foley, Jim Williams, David Wallace and Denis Leamy on the field at one time,\u201d Quinlan said. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt didn\u2019t last too long. Wally wasn\u2019t too comfortable on the wing. Leamy actually did quite well, but probably didn\u2019t have the gas for some of the defensive work you have to do in that outside channel.\u201d<\/p>\n

His recollection follows the selection of Leinster hooker Dan Sheehan\u2019s at number eight against Munster. The 28-year-old has played in that role before, but never from the start of a game.<\/p>\n

With Caelan Doris and Jack Conan sidelined through injury, Cullen decided to move his stand-in skipper from the front to the back of the pack, with R\u00f3nan Kelleher<\/a> named at hooker for Saturday\u2019s United Rugby Championship<\/a> encounter (6pm).<\/p>\n

It is an intriguing pick, particularly with Ireland\u2019s<\/a> Nations Championship fixtures approaching, beginning with Argentina\u2019s visit on November 6th.<\/p>\n

The loss of Doris and Conan leaves Ireland short of Test experience at the back of the scrum. While Quinlan initially described Sheehan\u2019s selection there as a \u201cmad one\u201d, he believes there is method in it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI genuinely wouldn\u2019t be surprised if Dan Sheehan was an option in the backrow for Ireland. He [Ireland head coach Andy Farrell<\/a>] could start with Kelleher and have Tom Stewart on the bench,\u201d the former Munster and Ireland flanker said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt could happen, particularly with two world-class number eights gone for Ireland. I\u2019m sure the other loose forwards would be disappointed if Dan Sheehan was starting ahead of them, but who knows.\u201d<\/p>\n

Quinlan referenced how Springboks maestro Rassie Erasmus has successfully experimented with positional switches, including the deployment of flanker Deon Fourie at hooker during the 2023 World Cup final. Erasmus subsequently moved Andr\u00e9 Esterhuizen from centre into the backrow.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not something I\u2019d be against,\u201d he said. \u201cSheehan is such an athletic player and an outstanding athlete that it wouldn\u2019t surprise me if we saw him in the back line; he could play in the centre as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis ability to carry and do damage in the loose would probably make him enjoy the role. It\u2019s a little bit of a left-field selection, but he\u2019s well capable of doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ian Madigan believes Leinster\u2019s game plan, which revolves heavily around the fit-again Jamison Gibson-Park<\/a>, should help Sheehan settle into his new role.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone will be helping Sheehan and saying, \u2018On this set-up, we want you in this position, just hold your feet, be patient, the play will come to you\u2019,\u201d former Leinster and Ireland outhalf Madigan said.<\/p>\n

\"IanIan Madigan will be a pundit on Premier Sports <\/p>\n

\u201cHe is so physically gifted that if his timing is slightly off, he misses the jump or goes too early, it doesn\u2019t really matter. It\u2019s about getting the ball into his hands, and then he can physically impose himself on the opposition. He\u2019s that good.\u201d<\/p>\n

With outhalf Sam Prendergast absent through injury, Joey Carbery<\/a> will make his first start since returning to Leinster against the province he left eight years ago.<\/p>\n

Madigan has no concerns about Carbery\u2019s lack of game time after he came on late in Clermont to complete his comeback from an anterior cruciate ligament injury, but expects an emotional occasion for the 30-year-old.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019ll want to make a mark. I know how ambitious Joey is and how he\u2019ll want to become Leinster\u2019s first-choice outhalf and get himself back into the Ireland set-up. There\u2019s no better way to do that than playing really well in an interprovincial game,\u201d Madigan said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is very much going to kick-start his season and his return to Leinster. He\u2019s a quality player and I\u2019d expect him to step up and get up to speed very quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n

As far as Munster are concerned, Quinlan believes having only two players selected for Ireland will come as a \u201cshock\u201d to the dressingroom and motivate Clayton McMillan\u2019s<\/a> side on Saturday.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Munster rolls up their sleeves here, it could ignite. There could be carnage in Dublin,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I don\u2019t think it\u2019s nasty or narky, a lot of them get on with each other.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not saying our day was any better, but I just don\u2019t think it captures the same imagination.\u201d<\/p>\n

Madigan, meanwhile, expects Leinster to use last season\u2019s defeat to their rivals at Croke Park<\/a> as motivation. \u201cThis is a fixture Leo Cullen loves. He absolutely savours every interprovincial, but particularly Leinster v Munster,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast year\u2019s defeat would have left a deep scar, and you can be guaranteed that he and Jacques Nienaber are lighting a fire under Leinster this week. I\u2019d expect them to get on top, but it\u2019s going to be a hell of a battle.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alan Quinlan and Ian Madigan were speaking on a media call for the BKT United Rugby Championship. Ian Madigan will be part of the Premier Sports team showing live coverage of Leinster v Munster on Saturday from the Aviva Stadium at 5.15pm on Premier Sports 1. To join in visit www.premiersports.com @PremSportsTV<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"So it\u2019s front to back for Dan Sheehan in terms of his position in the pack on Saturday…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":662952,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[25747,11896,65851,42,1449,60320,120177,11287,28577,11897,43,46618,40,38,41,39,14881],"class_list":["post-662951","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-andy-farrell","tag-clayton-mcmillan","tag-dan-sheehan","tag-headlines","tag-ireland-rugby","tag-jamison-gibson-park","tag-joey-carbery","tag-leinster-rugby","tag-leo-cullen","tag-munster-rugby","tag-news","tag-ronan-kelleher","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories","tag-united-rugby-championship"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/662951","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=662951"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/662951\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/662952"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=662951"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=662951"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=662951"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}