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Iain Henderson looks set to start Ireland’s Guinness Six Nations third round game against Italy in Rome next Saturday week pending the outcome of Tadhg Beirne’s examination by a specialist on the leg injury which is likely to rule him out of that game.
Beirne was helped off in the 45th minute of Ireland’s titanic 32-19 win over the reigning Grand Slam champions France last Saturday, after which he was seen in a moon boot, and Munster will be anxiously awaiting the extent of his injury as well.
The Munster and Irish lock was not formally named in the 25-man squad released by the IRFU yesterday for their two-day mini camp next Thursday, which appeared to strongly indicate that Andy Farrell will pay both the improving Italians and the championship due respect by opting for a largely unchanged side.
Henderson, who replaced Beirne for the last 35 minutes last Saturday, was one of three locks included in the 25-man squad, who will train against Richie Murphy’s Under-20 squad at the IRFU HPC centre. James Ryan and Ryan Baird are the others, whereas Joe McCarthy was one of a dozen players released to their provinces for this weekend’s round of URC fixtures, suggesting that Henderson will partner Ryan with Baird on the bench in the Stadio Olimpico.
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The 70-times capped Ulster flanker had had an injury-plagued time of things lately, being ruled out of both the New Zealand tour and the Autumn Series before returning to the squad as a replacement in Ireland’s opening two wins in this Six Nations. His last appearance previously, and last Test start, was in the 2022 Six Nations finale when Ireland beat Scotland to win the Triple Crown.
The squad bulletin also confirmed that Johnny Sexton’s groin injury will be managed this week, meaning that Jack Crowley has been retained as a third outhalf, while the unlucky Rob Herring will proceed through the Return to Play protocols.
The Ulster hooker was forced off in the 25th minute with a head knock following the shoulder-to-chin high hit by Uini Atonio which resulted in his yellow card. The decision by Wayne Barnes not to brandish a red card was widely criticised and the La Rochelle and French tighthead has been cited for foul play.
Atonio will attend an independent disciplinary hearing after he was cited for an act of foul play contrary to Law 9.13m and the Six Nations statement added: “A player must not tackle an opponent early, late or dangerously. Dangerous tackling includes, but is not limited to, tackling or attempting to tackle an opponent above the line of the shoulders even if the tackle starts below the line of the shoulders.”
“The player will attend a hearing via video conference before an independent Judicial Committee consisting of Judge Mike Mika – Chairman (New Zealand), joined by former international Leon Lloyd (England) and former international Stefan Terblanche (South Africa). The hearing will take place on Wednesday 15th February 2023.”
Meanwhile Dan Sheehan “will continue his hamstring rehab under the supervision of the Ireland medical team” and has been included as one of three hookers in the squad, along with Herring and Ronan Kelleher. This suggests that of the quartet of frontline players ruled out of the French game, Sheehan has the best chance of being in the mix against Italy.
By comparison, Cian Healy (hamstring), Tadhg Furlong (groin), Robbie Henshaw (wrist) and Jamison Gibson Park (hamstring) “will continue their respective rehab programmes”, but none have been formally named in the 25-man squad, which perhaps indicates the odds are against them being involved against the Azzurri.
Ireland’s haul of ten points out of a possible ten, along with the performances of the various ‘understudies’, also reduces the need to rush any of them back too quickly. That even applies to Furlong, given the performances of Finlay Bealham in his first two Six Nations starts could even mean that when the Lions’ tighthead does return, he could well be eased back on the bench.
That’s pretty incredible when you think about it, on top of which Tom O’Toole made an eye-catching impression with his dynamic 19 minutes off the bench, when making 52 metres off eight carries.
Ireland Squad Mini-Camp 16-17th February, 2023
Forwards: (Hookers) Rob Herring (Ulster/Ballynahinch) 33 caps, Ronan Kelleher (Leinster/Lansdowne) 19 caps, Dan Sheehan (Leinster/Lansdowne) 14 caps. (Props) Finlay Bealham (Connacht/Buccaneers) 29 caps, Dave Kilcoyne (Munster/UL Bohemians) 50 caps, Tom O’Toole (Ulster/Ballynahinch) 6 caps, Andrew Porter (Leinster/UCD) 50 caps. (Locks), Ryan Baird (Leinster/Dublin University) 8 caps, Iain Henderson (Ulster/Academy) 70 caps, James Ryan (Leinster/UCD) 50 caps. (Backrowers), Jack Conan (Leinster/Old Belvedere) 35 caps, Caelan Doris (Leinster/St Mary’s College) 25 caps, Peter O’Mahony (Munster/Cork Constitution) 91 caps, Josh van der Flier (Leinster/UCD) 47 caps.
Backs: (Scrumhalves) Craig Casey (Munster/Shannon) 9 caps, Conor Murray (Munster/Garryowen) 102 caps. (Outhalves) Ross Byrne (Leinster/UCD) 16 caps, Jack Crowley (Munster/Cork Constitution) 2 caps, Johnny Sexton (Leinster/St Mary’s College) 111 caps (capt). (Centres) Bundee Aki (Connacht/Galwegians) 43 caps, Stuart McCloskey (Ulster/Bangor) 11 caps, Garry Ringrose (Leinster/UCD) 49 caps. (Outside backs) Mack Hansen (Connacht/Corinthians) 10 caps, Hugo Keenan (Leinster/UCD) 27 caps, James Lowe (Leinster) 17 caps.
Released to Provinces: Caolin Blade (Connacht/Galwegians) 1 cap, Gavin Coombes (Munster/Young Munster) 2 caps, Keith Earls (Munster/Young Munster) 98 caps, Jordan Larmour (Leinster/St Marys College) 30 caps, Joe McCarthy (Leinster/Dublin University) 1 cap, Michael Milne (Leinster/UCD) uncapped, Jimmy O’Brien (Leinster/Naas) 3 caps, Jamie Osborne (Leinster/Naas) uncapped, Cian Prendergast (Connacht/Corinthians) 1 cap, Roman Salanoa (Munster/Shannon) uncapped, Tom Stewart (Ulster/Ballynahinch) uncapped, Jacob Stockdale (Ulster/Lurgan) 35 caps.
2023 Guinness Six Nations Fixtures & Results
Principality Stadium, Saturday 4th February 2023: Wales 10 IRELAND 34
Aviva Stadium, Saturday 11th February 2023: IRELAND 32 France 19
Saturday 25th February 2023, KO 14:15 (IST); RTÉ TV/ITV / RTÉ Radio/BBC Radio: Italy v IRELAND
Sunday 12th March 2023, KO 15:00 (IST); RTÉ TV / BBC / RTÉ Radio / BBC Radio: Scotland v IRELAND
Saturday 18th March 2023, KO 17:00 (IST); VIRGIN / ITV / RTÉ Radio / BBC Radio: IRELAND v England
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