Ireland and Leinster fly-half Joey Carbery claimed that the loss of Jamie Heaslip will be felt off the pitch as much as on it after the 34-year-old announced his retirement from rugby.
Heaslip was forced to hang up his boots with a lower back injury after undergoing two operations to remedy the issue.
The two-Tour British and Irish Lion had hoped that the surgeries would allow him to return to action with Leinster but was forced to accept medical advice to retire with immediate effect to ensure his "future well being"
Carbery has seen the impact that Heaslip had up close at Leinster but insists that it’s off the pitch where his absence will be most keenly felt.
"It’s very sad to see him go. He’s such a great guy and such a nice fella’ to chat to," Carbery said on the Ray D’Arcy show on RTÉ Radio 1.
"He really makes the environment that he’s in a lot better with his positivity and his diligent work rate and just how nice of a guy he is.
"We’re all going to miss having him around and he’s going to be a huge loss for us."
Heaslip’s retirement will mean further responsibility on the shoulders of Johnny Sexton as one of the more senior Leinster and Ireland players and Carbery revealed that the 32-year-old is helping him develop his game, despite the two being rivals for the fly-half slot at Leinster and Ireland.
"It’s great working with him," he said. "We do compete and we compete for the same position but above all that we’re friends so I can always chat with him.
"He’s a great guy to work with and I hope us competing helps him play better, I’m know for sure it’s helping me play better.
"I can always ask him a question if I’m unsure of something and he’s always going to give me the right answer.
"He sure as hell keeps me in my space when it comes down to kicking competitions, he shows me how to do it."
Carbery replaced Sexton in the dying moment’s of Ireland’s 37-27 Six Nations victory over Wales last weekend, keeping alive the nation’s Grand Slam hopes.
Much focus is on the St Patrick’s Day showdown with England at Twickenham, but Carbery insists that Ireland are not looking past next week’s clash with Scotland at the Aviva.
"It would be a dream come true but we know how tough Scotland are going to be so we’re just concentrating on them and making sure we’re prepared because that’s going to be such a tough game," he said.
"We’re excited but we know how hard we have to work. Scotland are a great outfit with some great players and we know how hard they’re going to be.
"At the moment we’re just trying to get all the details and everything nailed down now so when the time comes we’ll be ready."
