'You just have to hit and push and strike' - Healy plays down switch to hooker

Cian Healy has boots and will play.

After more than 300 games of professional rugby at loosehead prop, at the age of 33 he decided to retrain himself as a tighthead when Leinster were stuck for numbers early last season, filling in there on occasion this season when needed.

Last Sunday, he completed the full front row set, playing just over 30 minutes as an emergency hooker after Ireland had seen both Dan Sheehan and Rónan Kelleher hit with injury during the 22-7 Guinness Six Nations win against Scotland.

Despite his lack of experience in the centre of the front row, Ireland's scrum actually thrived, comfortably dealing with the Scottish setpiece, winning one particular penalty which gave them the field position from which they scored their second try through James Lowe.

While he's never played hooker for Ireland, Healy has been an emergency option in all three front row positions in recent seasons, something which is a lot more significant than it first seems.

In the official teamsheet on the day of games, management must indicate which front row positions players are capable of playing. In the case of Tadhg Furlong, for example, there's an X beside tighthead, for Andrew Porter both tight and loose and marked off, while Healy is listed as an option for all three positions.

Crucially, his ability to slot in at hooker saved Ireland losing an extra player. Had Ireland not had a third hooking option in their matchday 23, the game would have had to go to uncontested scrums. And with World Rugby's laws targeted at teams trying to manipulate that situation, Ireland would have been forced to go down to 14 players but for Healy's versatility.

"I don't mind if someone lifted me up out of the middle of a scrum, I can take that, but we