Leinster's Jordan Larmour needs to seriously be in the reckoning for a World Cup spot due to his lethal sidestep, according to ex-Leinster outhalf Andy Dunne.
After his electric international debut season in 2018, Larmour has had the potential to be one of the best Irish wingers in recent memory.
However, he has not yet lived up to that potential, as injury setbacks and lack of form have hindered him to the point where he is currently on the fringes if at all in the Ireland squad.
Now that he is back playing regularly for Leinster, though, Andy Dunne feels that Larmour has a unique set of skills that could see him be a bolter for Ireland's World Cup squad.
Speaking on Wednesday Night Rugby, Dunne looked back on Larmour's most recent game against Connacht, particularly the 'ankle breaker' that saw him run around David Hawkshaw.
"They are unique qualities that he has," Dunne said. "I would have thought that performance alone the other night immediately shines a bit of a light on him and a focus from Mike Catt and [Andy] Farrell.
"He probably needs to put a few games together in terms of showing his capacity to put stuff back to back and that physical resilience.
"But he has a unique ability to beat people."
Larmour's 'ankle breakers'
In the 45th minute of Leinster's New Year's Day clash with Connacht, Larmour stepped around Hawkshaw, which resulted in the Connacht centre needing to be replaced.
Hawkshaw injured his ankle in an attempt to prevent Larmour from scoring, and will be out for the foreseeable future.
Dunne believes that the ability to 'break ankles' with his sidestep makes Larmour a unique asset for any team, particularly in a World Cup year.
"David Hawkshaw is a young, agile, 21-year-old defender," Dunne said. "He looked like he injured his foot or ankle as a result of how good Larmour's step was.
"The commentary said he caught his foot in the grass. The reason he caught his studs in the grass, the phraseology I've heard about good steppers, people call them 'ankle breakers'. They don't break their own ankles, they break someone else's!
"There are very few people I've seen in Irish rugby culture over the last 20 years who can step like he can."
The best step since Christian Cullen
When pressed by presenter Joe Molloy to think of an Irish player with a similar step to Larmour's, Dunne was at a loss for examples.
"I don't know, [he's got] the best step maybe," Dunne said. "He's got kind of a Christian Cullen [about him]. Cullen had this beautiful running style, a long stride and could accelerate. It was something quite majestic about watching him playing.
"Larmour is shorter and more explosive, but that sidestep he's got is lethal! I actually think he caused, inadvertently, that injury to Hawkshaw.
"Any Irish attacker who can do that to a defender is worth being in the reckoning. He has to be, I think."
Dunne believes that Larmour's footwork might make him an invaluable inside backline player in the future as well as a deadly finisher on the wing.
However, for now, Larmour needs to focus on building back-to-back performances.
"I've thrown a left-field comment here in studio a couple of years ago," Dunne said, "I think players with that much footwork could be moved further in-field.
"If he developed his passing game, much like what happened with [Gordon] D'Arcy who started on the wings and fullback, but played all his great rugby at 12.
"If he can break that interior defence, which he can do I'd say better than anyone, it's then what's his capacity like to offload and be a distributor. That's something that, down the line, could be developed in his game, it's not for now."
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