Moments after celebrating his Leinster comeback with a two-try salvo in their URC victory over the Stormers, Dan Sheehan made sure to thank two of the people involved in his rehabilitation.
Emma Gallivan, senior physiotherapist at Leinster, and Olympic boxer Cathal O'Grady were mentioned in his post-match interview, the return at the end of January coming just over six months after suffering an ACL injury during Ireland's first Test against South Africa.
Gallivan and the medical staff at Leinster were Sheehan’s primary team but O’Grady’s contribution is not forgotten by the 26-year-old, who marked his international return with a stunning 32-minute appearance off the bench that included the likely try of the tournament in the 27-22 win over England.
"He’s been brilliant for me," Sheehan told RTÉ Sport. "I did boxing with him in Harold's Cross every week for a good chunk of the rehab period.
"He was just excellent to get the fitness and stuff but mainly the footwork while being distracted by being hit or trying to hit someone.
"It definitely helped my footwork, and getting me a bit of bounce.
"One of the big things with the ACL is trying to get your power output back and reactive strength and stuff so to have boxing as a form of distraction [shows] how important footwork is in boxing and skipping.
"It's actually become a big part of my daily routine now, skipping."
O’Grady, who runs White Collar Boxing in Dublin, represented Ireland at the 1996 Olympic Games and has 10 national and a European junior heavyweight title to his name.
Speaking to RTÉ Sport, O’Grady detailed how quickly Sheehan took to the sweet science.
"Emma got in touch with me and she told me her plan, and it was the usual ACL rehab but she wanted to add a little bit of edge to it," he said.
"He’d be learning a new skill, he’d be engaged mentally but also we’d be targetting the ACL with the specific exercises.
"We were jumping rope, proper jumping rope, doing a lot of slipping and ducking and boxing stances so there was a little bit of movement in that knee as well.
"Initially, she was interested in footwork drills and the boxing ring because there’s some padding on it, it’s not like the rugby field or concrete or astro.
Ireland have had some positive news on the injury front ahead of their Six Nations trip to Scotland at the weekend, where scrum coach John Fogarty is expecting a fiery encounter. pic.twitter.com/RlvOPdQod4
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) February 5, 2025
"He took to the boxing like a duck to water, he was getting techniques, perfecting stuff in one hour that should have taken him two or three weeks.
"It's also trying to incorporate the science: we’d work on a specific drill where he’d only be allowed to throw these certain punches or move this way or that, to try and work different areas."
While it wasn’t all shadow-boxing and ducking or diving, O’Grady didn’t go full 'Rocky’ and bring Sheehan down to the family dairy farm in Kildare.
"We’d no chickens that would be fast enough for him to chase."
But there was room for a bit of contact training for the 6ft 3in, 17st Dubliner, who is in line for his 29th cap against Scotland on Sunday in Ireland’s second Guinness Six Nations match (3pm, live on RTÉ).
"I got in and done a few rounds with him myself, just a bit of body sparring so it makes it a bit of fun," added O’Grady (above).
"I brought in some of my guys who had really good footwork down so he’d a different challenge every time. Dan isn't the type of fellow to shy away from a bit of contact so I think he loved it.
"He said he loved a bit of competition because he was without it for so many months as well."
Former New Zealand centre Sonny Bill Williams is the most famous player to cross over from rugby to boxing and O’Grady reckons Sheehan is a natural.
Dan Sheehan is "fully aware of Scotland's motivation" ahead of their Six Nations clash at Murrayfield and he expects the hosts to be fired up. pic.twitter.com/cbnNEmp0d6
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) February 5, 2025
"He's a formidable boy with a pair of gloves on him, very skillful, super-fast hands, super footwork.
"A lot of time you get guys and they just pummel away and they’re strong and powerful, but he got the whole concept, got the movement. His footwork on the rugby field is ridiculous and his feet always seem to be in the right place at the right time.
"He was no different in boxing.
"There is no physical or mental examination like lacing up a pair of boxing gloves, it’s a character test as well as everything else."
Good job, Goodman #RTERugby analyst @bernardjackman looks at Ireland's attack against England on #AgainstTheHead #RTESport #IREvENG #SixNations pic.twitter.com/ALrBdlr0p0
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) February 4, 2025
While Sheehan has made a spectacular comeback, capped off by scoring Ireland’s bonus-point try, he knows he has a job on his hands to take the starting shirt off fellow Leinster forward Rónan Kelleher, who had one of his best games in green last Saturday.
"My ambitions are to get back into a starting jersey like everyone else is," he said.
"At the same time I need to manage my load, going from six months out of the game to three weeks in a row but I’ve been well managed by everyone here.
"Unfortunately, it’s not up to me to pick the team. We’ll find out over the next few days but my ambition is to get back soon.
"Last Saturday, [the try] was obviously a big moment in the game and it was mainly the feeling of the game, like that was a bonus-point try and it kind of got us to where we wanted to be."
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