Ireland's Dan Sheehan calls talk of Irish rugby decline nonsense

Ireland captain Dan Sheehan said he has full confidence in his teammates and rejected suggestions that Irish rugby is in decline. He made the remarks while Andy Farrell's side sit third in the world rankings but have endured double‑digit defeats to South Africa, New Zealand and France, raising doubts about the team's trajectory. Farrell this week admitted his squad are not yet ready to set realistic ambitions of winning next year's World Cup in Australia. The comments come ahead of the upcoming Nations Championship fixtures.

Sheehan, who is deputising for injured skipper Caelan Doris this month, urged the side to fully back themselves before hosting Argentina, Fiji and world champions South Africa at home in this month's matches. He said: "I've full confidence in this group," said Sheehan, who is again deputising for injured skipper Caelan Doris this month. "I think reminding myself and the group of the quality we have...sometimes you can hear outside noise about, 'is this a transitioning time for Irish rugby?' or 'is this a decline in Irish rugby?' and I think it's all nonsense really.

Making sure we keep our confidence in what we have, in the personnel we have, the coaches we have in the group, it's all set up perfectly for us. I think it's just doubling down on our work ethic and making sure we fully back ourselves."