THE TIES THAT BIND

CIAN HEALY turned 34 last month. Had he celebrated his birthday by treating himself to an extra hour in the gym, our guess is that nobody at Leinster would have been a bit surprised. Frankly, if his employers didn’t mark the occasion by wheeling out a giant cake in the shape of a life-size scrummaging machine they’ll have missed a trick.

Scan Irish rugby history and if you can find a tougher player than Healy then good luck. If you can find somebody who has pushed himself through physical torture as often as Healy has, while delivering emphatic performances at the very top end of the game at the same time, then you’ll be doing well.

An Ireland player for a dozen years, he won his 109th cap in March. European Cups, Six Nations Championships, a Grand Slam. His career has been an epic one. Young Leinster props – Leinster players of all positions, in fact – talk about him