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Rugby

12th Dec 2016

Will Greenwood sensibly throws underrated Irish star into Lions conversation

Well deserved too

Patrick McCarry

The big performances keep coming and, if that continues in 2017, then there will be a huge chance of County Meath having some British & Irish Lions representation.

Devin Toner was a 27-year-old lock with five Irish caps [one start] when Joe Schmidt was announced as Ireland head coach.

Three and a half years later, Toner now has 42 caps, two Six Nations championships and was one of the first names on Ireland’s team-sheets for victories over South Africa, New Zealand and Australia.

He has become a key figure in Schmidt’s Ireland and is now almost as famous for the amount of rucks he hits than the amount of clean line-out ball he claims. Toner was man-of-the-match in Ireland’s super win over the Springboks, in Cape Town, and he averaged over 8/10 in the recent November Series against the very best opposition.

Toner returned to provincial duty for Leinster on Friday night and was mightily effective again. He was part of a front five that dominated Northampton Saints, he made strong carries and was a head-melt for the Premiership side all night.

Toner’s performance was certainly on Will Greenwood’s radar. The former England and Lions centre believes the six-foot-ten lock must be in the mix for next summer’s tour to New Zealand.

Greenwood’s views are in tandem with those of former Lions coach Ian McGeechan, who describes Toner as a ‘giant of a man’ who could help Ireland dominate lineouts and deploy an effective choke tackle defence.

Greenwood’s statement, typically in a Lions season, divided rugby fans.

Imagine…

https://twitter.com/andrewfoley13/status/807340545408372740

The main competition

Get him on the plane

He’s come a long way in three years