'Conan and Sheehan should make Lions squad'

Former Grand Slam winner Tommy Bowe praised Jack Conan and Dan Sheehan's impact off the bench in Ireland's Six Nations win over England on Saturday.

In his first Test appearance since last year's Six Nations, back row Conan added a serious injection of ball-carrying threat after being introduced early in the second half, while hooker Sheehan marked his return from an anterior cruciate ligament injury with a try.

Speaking on the BBC's Rugby Union Weekly podcast, former Ireland star Bowe said "game breakers" Conan and Sheehan should be under consideration for this summer's British and Irish Lions tour.

Bowe said: "The two players that did come off the bench that absolutely could be and probably should be going on the Lions tour is Jack Conan, who started at eight in all three Tests of the last series and Dan Sheehan, who I think is one of the best hookers in the world right now.

"He's just come back from an ACL. It's only his second match back after a five-month recovery, which is quite remarkable and unheard of, he was phenomenal when he came on."

Bowe, who twice toured with the Lions, also said praised Ireland's depth of leadership.

"From an Irish point of view, there's so many great leaders, but [Jamison] Gibson-Park is one of the leaders in there.

"He's so fundamental. There's [Caelan] Doris at eight, you have James Ryan in the second row. It's the spine of the team."