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Other than Sexton Farrell has full Ireland deck to pick from
By PA
Ireland have reported a fully-fit squad for Saturday’s Bank of Ireland Nations Series clash with Italy at the Aviva Stadium.
Head coach Andy Farrell named a 42-man training squad at the end of May in preparation for the World Cup in September and the players have regathered at the IRFU High Performance Centre in Dublin.
Irish Rugby said: “The Ireland squad have stepped up their preparations ahead of Saturday night’s opening game of the Bank of Ireland Nations Series at Aviva Stadium against Italy (8pm).
“In team news, all players reported into camp on Sunday evening and are available for selection for the Bank of Ireland Nations Series.”
After their first warm-up match against Italy, Ireland will play England at Aviva Stadium (August 19) and Samoa in Bayonne (August 26) before their opening World Cup group game against Romania in Bordeaux on September 9.
Captain Johnny Sexton will miss the warm-up fixtures due to a three-match ban, but will be available for their opening World Cup fixture.
The 38-year-old fly-half admitted to a misconduct charge following his row with referee Jaco Peyper at the end of Leinster’s Heineken Champions Cup final defeat to La Rochelle in May, in which he did not play.
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Latest Comments
Bell as historically struggled against shorter props getting low, not sure if that was the issue on the weekend but he normally goes very well against taller props. He also had a huge game the week before and hasn’t played much rugby this year so maybe not 100% this week. Slipper didn’t stay on too long so Bell had another big match. Thought Nonggorr went well when he came on for AAA.
Go to commentsWhat a Muppet! The ref didn't cost them game, Crawley didn't collect the ball as a result of the high hit, no high hit no turnover to Argentina to lead to the disallowed try.
Players milking penalties and injuries isn't new to rugby, to lambast Ireland for it is ridiculous. Clearly he hasnt watched many games with nic white, Farrell, Aaron smith, FAF or any other halfbacks. Let's not forget Sexton and his legendary dives. Players will always look to get an advantage on the field, it's literally their job.
What is it with kiwi pundits and thinking the timing of the call matters more than the offense. A knock after 5 phases is still a knock on. A high hit after 3 phases is still a high hit. First whinging about the RWC forward pass in 2007 not being picked up. Now everything is picked up and it's ruining the game. Pick a side.
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