While Ireland's lineout struggles came into sharp focus during the Pool B win against South Africa last month, there's no great overhaul of their set-piece planned according to Dan Sheehan.
The Irish lineout has had issues on and off over the last 12 months; in their warm-up games with Italy and England they were penalised multiple times for obstruction at the maul, while they ran into severe issues against both Samoa and the Springboks, losing their opening four throws and six in total against the world champions.
The issues appeared to stem from a myriad of things; timing of the jump, the spring in the lift, an over or underthrown ball, and in one lineout against Samoa there was a breakdown in communication.
They've managed to defy their inconsistent lineout over the last year with their winning record now at 16 and counting, although they will need to significantly improve on their 66% accuracy (v South Africa) if they want to go deep in this competition.
According to Sheehan, the issues have come through their execution of the plan rather than the plan itself, and the Leinster hooker says they haven't torn up the playbook during their bye-week.
"Nothing different, there's been no new meetings or new plan, we're very confident in our plan and the way we prepare for a lineout," he said, ahead of Saturday's Pool B decider against Scotland.
"I think we were coming up against South Africa who are one of the best teams in the world, things will go wrong and we probably didn't get everything right on our part but that's just a quick review.
"There's no need to go chasing something that isn't here. We still have full confidence in our plan and way of preparing. I don't think it's a problem."
Very little of the blame for Ireland's lineout issues can fall on the shoulders of Sheehan, who made all of his throws after coming on as a second half substitute in the win against South Africa.
The hooker sat out Ireland's opening two games of the tournament having suffered a foot injury in the warm-up win against England in August, and says getting back into the rhythm and timing of lineout throwing is a challenge when coming back from period out.
"You can throw a ball against a wall or to a target as much as you want, but timings are always going to be the main thing you want to get right. You can only really find that in training, so that was one thing that was on my mind.
"But I put enough work in and there was enough support back home that I was able to get a few reps here and there or do sessions where I wasn't part of the session but was able to throw.
"I think the only danger was coming back that I was too eager to overdo things. I probably gave away two penalties at the weekend where I was just a bit over-eager to get involved and I just need to go back to my own process and play the game.
"To get a good three or four weeks now of training under the belt and a half an hour of rugby definitely means that I have sort of got the confidence back.
"I feel in a great place, probably the fittest and the best condition I have been in a long time. It was nice to have that rehab window, where you can focus on other things as well. The body is in great shape."
While he's only played 19 times for Ireland, Sheehan (below) established himself as first choice hooker for Andy Farrell in 2022, and after returning off the bench against South Africa he is now being tipped for a starting place in the final pool game this Saturday.
Ireland know a win will guarantee them a quarter-final spot as pool winners, while there are a number of potential scenarios they could advance even in defeat.
And while Sheehan says the players will stay abreast of what they need to do at the Stade de France, winning is the only outcome they're really thinking of.
"I think we're all aware of the different little permutations, but our job is to out and win a game.
"I'm sure there'll be scenarios throughout, that if we find ourselves in a situation we'll know what to do, and it would be stupid of us not to know it going into a match.
"Of course everyone is fully aware of what we need to do at what time and depending on what the scoreline is. For us as a XV on the pitch, it's just win the game.
"Obviously there is a lot on the line, especially this week. But I think we probably stick to the same procedures in regards to preparation.
"I think you can be in danger of over-hyping a game or getting too geared up about an occasion, so realistically, it's pretty similar to a Test match, but obviously everyone knows that there is a lot on the line."
Listen to the RTÉ Rugby podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
Listen to live commentary of Ireland v Scotland on Saturday on RTÉ Radio 1, or follow a live blog on RTÉ.ie and the RTÉ News app.
