If you've been keeping the slightest eye on Dan Sheehan's young career, you'd know he has an eye for the tryline.
With six tries in five games this season for Leinster, his tally for the province now stands at 22 in 34, while he's crossed the line twice in his 10 caps for Ireland.
The hooker gets the headlines for those scores, but behind closed doors it's the collective that get the credit. Of those six Leinster tries this season for example, five have come off the back of dominant mauls.
"It's something we work hard at in training," the 24-year-old says, as he discusses the art of a driving maul.
"It's not just by chance that teams are beginning to attack off the back of mauls or from the five-metre line.
"It’s a good opportunity to bunch up a good portion of their forwards and then sometimes you’re left with a winger, or a nine or 10 that you only have to get a metre beyond to flop over the line. It’s not something that is off the cuff, we’ve worked on it in training quite a bit."
Communication is also key, he says, with a great example of that being his latest try against Munster, when his scrum-half Luke McGrath stepped back from the maul just at the last second to put doubt in the mind of the defence, and create the pocket of space for Sheehan to break into.
"When the opportunity presents itself, a lot goes into it. You need to chat with the nine to see his picture in front because I can’t see anything. There’s a lot that goes into it.
"You back yourself with the size, but making the judgement. Will I be left on my own if I break off? Or can I make that extra inch that gets you there? A lot of the time, you only have to make it a foot from the point of contact to get over."
Naturally, he doesn't appear to agree with the suggestions of some pundits - not this writer - who want to see the value of a maul try lowered from five to four, in a bid to encourage more expansive, attacking rugby.
"It depends on how you look at rugby. There are at least 10 people who go into making that [maul] try. Some people want to see those one-off tries where a magician runs the whole pitch. For us, my interest is going up the field as a pack. And especially in the international game today, you can’t do it by yourself. You need to have a full pack working together," he adds.
The suggestion that Ireland could score a few easy tries this weekend against South Africa would also be laughable, with Jacques Nienaber's side holding arguably the biggest, and deepest group of forwards in the game right now.
In recent games against both France and French club sides, Ireland and Leinster have found it tough to navigate their way both through and around the more physical forward packs.
But Sheehan says he is confident that even if Ireland don't have the size to deal with the likes of Eben Etzebeth, Malcolm Marx and Frans Malherbe, they do have the technique.
"I presume they're probably bigger men. Their game style is direct and forward, they’re not as expansive as other teams like us maybe. It is direct.
"Size is one part of it, but 90% of a dominant collision is technique. That’s what we’re priding ourselves on, the technique of being able to win those dominant collisions.
"Each team have their ups and downs. They might say they will go for the size and dominance, but we will try to move them around, get them going again.
"A lot of work in our tackle, our carry, whether we want to isolate certain players, or getting two-man shots on their one player, we talk about that in defence too, where we have two men tackling one of their players. It gives us an edge in terms of dominating collisions and closing the ball down."
Keeping the South African pack moving will be key to Ireland's chances this week. As the last year has shown, Ireland's forwards have become quite comfortable in possession, with a big emphasis placed on handling and distribution skills of the pack.
Sheehan is no different, and he's even shown himself to be a dangerous runner with the ball in a broken-field situation, his try versus Connacht last December a perfect example of his pace and skill level.
"It's something I probably would have been comfortable with at as a kid, and I would have worked on with my brother.
"Even throwing the ball around, I’m very comfortable attacking with ball in hand, even in the wider channels. I back my skillset and I think it’s something I’ve maybe added to the squad which is a bit different.
"But it’s also something that everyone has grown in. It’s probably expected now in international rugby."
It's only this time last year that the Lansdowne man earned his first cap, drafted in as back-up to Rónan Kelleher for the opening game of last November's block against Japan.
And with his Leinster teammate having had to endure a spate of frustrating injuries in the last 12 months, Sheehan has seen himself thrust into a leading role for both province and country, starting all three Tests for Ireland in the summer series win against the All Blacks.
"I think the last two seasons have gone well for me. I think slowly I'm building confidence all the way.
"I feel good now, had a good start to the season, a good few minutes under the belt with Leinster. I feel the body is perfect rolling into these next few weeks. I’m probably at my best confidence-wise anyway, and that belief in my game.
"I wouldn't say it was easy, but I haven’t really surprised myself to be honest. I knew the ability I had, but it took me a while to see that myself, around some aspects of the professional game, just to mould myself into it.
"It took maybe three or four years but once I got there I knew I had something different to offer, and I’d be able to show my game."
Follow a live blog on Ireland v South Africa on RTÉ.ie/sport and RTÉ News app this Saturday from 5pm with live radio commentary on Saturday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1.
