Ireland cut could come at the wrong time for Addison and Moore

While Ulster have no further update on the injury status of fullback Will Addison or prop Marty Moore, the two players will be sweating as coach Andy Farrell seems set to cut his Irish squad down to below 40 players on Wednesday and perhaps also name a new Irish captain following the retirement of Rory Best after the World Cup.

Both Addison and Moore were included in Farrell’s initial 45-man squad. But the injury timing could not have come at a worse time.

Addison departed Ulster's game against Clermont Auvergne last Saturday after only 50 minutes. The four times Irish capped international was seen leaving Stade Marcel Michelin on crutches.

Moore also hobbled out of the game with what looked like an ankle injury, although, it did not appear to be as serious as that of his team-mate.

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Addison had just returned from a four-game ban following a clash of heads with Clermont's Paul Jedrasiak in the club's previous meeting and was found guilty of "reckless contact" when cited following the match.

It has been a hugely frustrating 12 months for the England-born 27-year-old, who missed the second half of last season after back surgery. He got himself fit to be involved during Ireland’s pre-season and then pulled up with a calf issue in his first game back against Wales.

Having narrowly missed out on a place in Joe Schmidt’s final World Cup squad, Addison was on standby, but then suffered a hamstring injury in late September.

Tighthead prop Moore suffered season-ending ankle ligament injury last April in Ulster’s win over Edinburgh, which dashed any hopes of being named in Schmidt’s World Cup squad.

Moore, who played with Leinster and Wasps for two seasons, made his debut for Ireland in 2014 but hasn’t added to his tally of 10 caps since 2015.