Alex Goode might have been feeling mischievous as he walked through the Stade Mayol mixed zone on Saturday afternoon, but the Saracens full-back had an unprompted suggestion for anyone listening all the same.
“Theo Dan; Lions?” he proposed with a shrug. “That was some performance.” Nods greeted the statement. French journalists were already convinced. One of them subsequently asked Mark McCall to elaborate upon Dan’s “flabbergasting” display. The diving offload for Ivan van Zyl’s try was greeted by a cry of “il est incroyable, ce jouer!” from a beIN Sports commentator.
Dan spearheaded an intrepid effort from the visitors that opened up a 35-13 advantage. Toulon would roar back to prevail 72-42, tapping into a theme of the weekend by using their superior depth to dismiss another Premiership side. Nevertheless, Dan was undeniably brilliant.
Later, the 24-year-old hooker reflected on what had been his first start in over two months, since a loss to Castres on January 19. Dan has needed to navigate an interesting patch in his young career. Awarded an enhanced elite player squad (EPS) contract at the end of October, he made one England appearance during the autumn, off the bench against New Zealand, and then a single cameo over the Six Nations.
No wonder he was like a coiled spring on Côte d’Azur. And as much as the British and Irish Lions cannot be a finishing school, Dan delivered a fine audition to be considered as an explosive option by Andy Farrell.
His first significant contribution was a burst from the back field thanks to a canny Saracens plan. Notice that as Toulon prepare to clear, after the restart to follow Jiuta Wainiqolo’s try, Dan is nowhere to be seen:
Only when Ben White kicks…
…does Dan come into view, and calls for Goode to feed him from a quick line-out:
Dan scans the Toulon chase before bouncing off his right foot and then his left. He brushes off Lewis Ludlam and powers out of Kyle Sinckler’s tackle, committing two more defenders:
Now, Saracens pride themselves on stringing together meaningful contributions in short spaces of time. Dan is still flat on his back as the visitors play towards the far touchline through Goode:
But he returns to his feet and drops deeper to make himself an option the next phase. Dan hangs on the right shoulder of Eroni Mawi and ...
