Wales fly-half Callum Sheedy has revealed the special relationship he has developed with Ireland legend Johnny Sexton after the Irishman's impromptu visit to gift Sheedy his jersey following his Test debut.
In another life, Sexton may have even been an international team-mate of Sheedy's, as the Cardiff native qualified to represent the Green Isle thanks to his Kildare-born dad Philip and even played age-grade rugby with Ireland before committing his Test future to Wales in 2020.
"Dad is a very proud Irishman," Sheedy has said in a RugbyJOE documentary. "When I was growing up, he was all Ireland, Ireland, Ireland. Mum is from Wales, so are all my friends, and I was born there, so that was my decision made. But I'm still very proud of my Irish links, and have gone back to Kildare a good few times, over the years."
As fate would have it, it was against Ireland that Sheedy made his Test debut for Wales in November 2020. He came off the bench in the 32-9 loss to Andy Farrell's men, but was bowled over by a special post-match visit to the changing room from Sexton, a player he had long looked up to.
"Oh it was amazing," Sheedy said. "It was incredible. It was my first cap and Johnny came over to give me his shirt. I was like a fan-boy, to be honest. I was asking him to get in a picture with me. To be fair to Johnny, he still keeps in contact with me now and he seems like an absolute legend of a bloke.
"He's someone I have looked up to for years, and just to get a message, out of the blue, to see how things are going... he's a role model. We're both professionals, as well, but I still look up to him, massively."
Ireland and Ulster out-half and House of Rugby Ireland host Ian Madigan previously said of the Sexton shirt swap: "I know from talking to Callum Sheedy, Johnny went in and found him and said 'look, I hear you've an Irish dad, congrats on your first cap and I'd love you to have my jersey and hold onto your own one, do with them as you please'. It's something that meant a huge amount to Callum and to his family."
It is perhaps an even more poignant gesture when considering Sexton came off injured in that game after only 27 minutes, yet still wanted to make the day extra special for his opponent.
Sheedy has made a strong start to his new English Premiership season with Bristol Bears, starting in both the season-opening 31-29 victory over West Country rivals Bath and then the Bears' first-ever Premiership win at Wasps on Saturday, where his kicking proved to be the difference — he claimed 18 points in the 23-8 away triumph — while he also scored a try. Only one other player for Bristol, Henry Honiball in 2000, had claimed a full house in a Premiership game, while Sheedy has now contributed more than 1,000 points to the Bristol Bears cause, becoming only the eighth player to do so.
After missing out on Wales selection to tour South Africa in July, Sheedy has so far risen to the challenge of becoming the number-one fly-half in Pat Lam's squad after the club signed AJ MacGinty on a three-year contract from Sale.
If the arrival of the USA captain presented a challenge, Sheedy - who has been with Bristol since 2017 - has responded. His full-house capped by a drop-goal, which saw him included in The Telegraph's Premiership team of the week, exemplifies a new spring in his step following a disappointing season last term when his form dipped and he withdrew from social media to preserve his mental health.
Nonetheless, Sheedy faces a sizeable task in confining a player of MacGinty's quality to play second fiddle, while he faces stiff competition from Dan Biggar, Gareth Anscombe and Rhys Patchell to re-establish himself in the Wales pecking order in what is a World Cup season. But, the early signs are encouraging.
Bristol next host London Irish on Saturday, September 24, at 3pm.
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