Ireland defence coach Simon Easterby is confident in Dan Sheehan stepping in as captain for the upcoming Nations Championship in the absence of injured Caelan Doris.

Doris has been ruled out of a tour of Australia for the second year running after he picked up a foot injury early in Leinster’s URC final win over the Bulls, while this time last year, he was also forced to miss the Lions tour following shoulder surgery.

Dan Sheehan has been chosen to lead the team out in Australia, but it is not the first time Andy Farrell has called on the hooker to take up the role, with Sheehan having captained Ireland against Wales in last year’s Six Nations.

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Ireland captain Dan Sheehan during a training session in Sydney. Pic: Saeed KHAN / AFP via Getty Images

‘It’s disappointing for Caelan, with missing out on potentially a couple of trips to Australia,’ Ireland defence coach Simon Easterby said in Sydney.

‘Hopefully, next year, it’ll be third time lucky ahead of the World Cup. It’s frustrating for him. But Dan Sheehan is an unbelievable player who has a skill set that’s probably different to a lot of players in his position.

‘He leads by his actions, and he leads from the front, and he’s shown that over a number of years. He captained Ireland in the Six Nations a couple of years ago and led unbelievably well.’

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Ireland defence coach Simon Easterby. Pic: Emmanuele Ciancaglini/Ciancaphoto Studio/Getty Images

Ireland’s Nations Championship gets underway against Australia in Sydney on Saturday, July 4, and Easterby has said the preparations for the fixtures are going well.

‘It’s been good – all 36 players are training, and we’ve enjoyed recovering from the jet lag, and yeah, we’ve really hit the ground running. It’s been a great week reconnecting. We’ve had great facilities at Wests Tigers’ ground, and it’s been an excellent seven days.

‘It’s been a great mix, I think. Sometimes players miss out for whatever reason, through injury or non-selection, and you get the opportunity to work with other players. They’ve all slotted in really well, and I think it’s a testament to the group that we’ve had no one drop out of training.’