Schmidt leaves door open for Irish World Cup hopefuls

Joe Schmidt has shown there is still a chance to win Test recognition in a World Cup year, his last as Ireland head coach, after naming three uncapped Connacht backs in his squad for the first two rounds of the 2019 Guinness Six Nations.

Schmidt leaves door open for Irish World Cup hopefuls

Joe Schmidt has shown there is still a chance to win Test recognition in a World Cup year, his last as Ireland head coach, after naming three uncapped Connacht backs in his squad for the first two rounds of the 2019 Guinness Six Nations.

Ireland open the defence of the title they won in Grand Slam style at Twickenham last year with a return date against England in Dublin on February 2 before travelling to Edinburgh to face Scotland a week later.

Schmidt and his coaching group yesterday named a 38-man squad for the mission and though this may be his sixth and final championship campaign before riding off into the sunset after this autumn’s World Cup in Japan, the New Zealander has reserved the right to keep springing surprises.

Scrum-half Caolin Blade, fly-half Jack Carty and centre Tom Farrell were the beneficiaries this time around, called into the national team set-up on the back of exciting performances for a rejuvenated Connacht. It will be seen as proof positive that the West is once again awake under the stewardship of new head coach Andy Friend, as will the recall handed to lock Ultan Dillane, although there was also disappointment in Connacht’s ranks as fellow forwards Quinn Roux and Finlay Bealham failed to retain the places they earned in the squad during November.

Blade’s inclusion comes as first-choice scrum-half Conor Murray returns to the fold having missed the November wins over Italy, Argentina, New Zealand and the USA due to a neck injury.

Ireland made history without Murray by beating the All Blacks for the first time on Irish soil with Kieran Marmion starting at nine backed up by Luke McGrath but both are unavailable this time around. Marmion has not played since that famous November 17 victory, undergoing ankle surgery and his absence from the Connacht line-up has seen Blade make the most of the opportunity with a series of accomplished performances.

Schmidt said yesterday that Marmion “was not too far away” from a return but Leinster’s McGrath will not feature following the knee ligament damage he sustained against Toulouse last Saturday.

Carty’s selection comes purely on form and at the expense of Leinster’s Ross Byrne, who had previously been Schmidt’s third-choice fly-half behind Johnny Sexton and Joey Carbery having toured to Australia last summer before earning his Test debut against Italy in Chicago in November while Tom Farrell was one of six centres named yesterday, alongside a fit-again Chris Farrell and Robbie Henshaw as well as the retained Will Addison, Bundee Aki and Garry Ringrose.

Leinster’s Dan Leavy, an integral member of Ireland’s Grand Slam-winning back row, was omitted from the squad due to a calf injury but could come into the squad later into the tournament. As Leavy drops out, Sean O’Brien returns to bolster Schmidt’s options.

Schmidt had words of comfort for a plethora of players who were not selected, describing them as unfortunate victims of “a number of tight calls across almost every position”.

The head coach is dealing with an impressive hand ahead of this year’s championship with Ireland ranked second in the world, a position consolidated with that famous 16-9 win over the top-ranked world champions in the last Test window and the four provinces completing a clean sweep of European victories last weekend.

This week’s final round of pool games may well lead to some revision to all Six Nations squads but Ireland have fewer concerns than their rivals with vice-captains Peter O’Mahony and Sexton both named and seemingly on the mend following rib and knee issues along with scrum-half John Cooney ahead of a four-day training camp next week in Portugal.

Indeed, compare Ireland’s lot with that of championship and World Cup rivals Scotland and it is a very rosy picture on this side of this water. With a little over eight months until the two sides meet in Yokohama for their opening pool game, Schmidt’s opposite number Gregor Townsend yesterday named seven uncapped players and 10 more with fewer than 10 caps in his squad of 39 players while the list of those unavailable through injury numbered 19.

Aside from the three potential debutants Schmidt named yesterday, only five more of the Ireland squad will enter the Six Nations with less than 10 Test appearances: Will Addison, Tadhg Beirne, John Cooney, Chris Farrell, Jordan Larmour. Such has been the success of Schmidt’s crusade to build strength in depth since the last World Cup in 2015 that he was able to name a squad yesterday that left him with plenty of room to discuss tight calls in every department rather than tight hamstrings and lamented absences.

Take, for example, the Irish midfield, about which Schmidt said: “Bundee Aki and a fresh and fully fit Robbie Henshaw squeeze out Rory Scannell, who was great for Munster last Friday, and Stu McCloskey, who continues to give Ulster gain line as well as defensive solidity. At outside centre Tom Farrell has forced his way into contention and Chris Farrell is working his way back to match fitness, improving week by week. We’re sure that Sam Arnold and Rory O’Loughlin will continue to improve and both have plenty of promise.”

His synopsis of the other combinations was equally thorough. Lots of options, suitable back-up in reserve and, indeed, plenty of promise.

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