Ireland captaincy 'massive honour' for Sheehan

Hooker Dan Sheehan says it is a "massive honour" to lead out Ireland in Saturday's Six Nations game in Wales.

Sheehan, 26, will captain Ireland for the first time in the absence of the injured Caelan Doris.

Ireland can secure the Triple Crown with victory over Wales, who have lost their past 14 matches.

"I've made a point to myself not to think about it too much," said Sheehan, who added it was a "big deal" to join some of Ireland's most established names as captain.

"I'm very comfortable in the group and it hasn't got to me too much. I've been enjoying the week, really. It's been nice. My phone has been blowing up a bit.

"We've had a great week of prep and everyone is looking forward to it."

While it will be a proud day for Sheehan, he says his sole focus is on helping Ireland to victory in Cardiff.

Ireland have beaten England and Scotland in their opening Six Nations matches and are favourites to beat Wales, who will be led by Cardiff boss Matt Sherratt after Warren Gatland left his role as head coach.

"That's the only thing on my mind, is getting a performance," said Sheehan, who added the Principality Stadium can be "daunting" to players.

"We've done well in the last two weeks but we had patches in the games where we weren't at our best.

"There were areas we really needed to work on to get an 80-minute performance so that is one of he things we've talked about.

"All eyes are on Wales and there's not been one word talked about any other game. It's massive for us and it's a great stadium to play in."