We did not expect to see much of Rhys Ruddock this week, but here he was, sitting in front of us in the drawing room and looking forward to playing South Africa.
The players will tell you that they find out the Ireland XV when we do, two days out from matchday, but they usually get a good idea by Tuesday of which way the wind is blowing.
Joe Schmidt previously held firm to a rule that players had to be training fully on a Tuesday to feature in his starting line-up but Test rugby has a habit of blurring the lines, especially when key players are concerned.
A fitness update issued by Ireland assistant coach Simon Easterby has all but shown Schmidt’s hand in terms of his back row picks. The big question remains to be the three men that will start and who will be in reserve. Easterby said:
“Jack Conan sat out training, he just had a heavy workload. We want to manage him today.
Tommy O’Donnell picked up a bit of a shoulder bump in training yesterday so he’s due to have a scan at some point today. Dan Leavy had a bit of tightness in his hamstring, obviously he played at the weekend. A bit tight on his right side, and he’s had a few niggles there as well on the right side of his foot. Again just managing his workload.”
Asked if O’Donnell’s injury was serious, Easterby replied, “No, not really. Like I say just management at this stage. It would be nice if you had a clean bill of health and you’ve got everyone available to train so we know that’s not always the case.
“It’s just about being sensible and earmarking players who may have potential weaknesses. If you know about things, at least you can prepare for that and not take any unnecessary risks.”
Right now, we’re predicting Schmidt will go with a starting back row of Peter O’Mahony, Sean O’Brien and CJ Stander at No.8. Ruddock has had a fine season and captained Ireland well over the summer.
His presence and versatility means he could handily cover all spots from the bench but if we were to pick a Lions star who could be fearing for his starting jersey, it would be Sean O’Brien. Iain Henderson can cover blindside but is expected to start in the second row.
Easterby was giving nothing away when we asked him if the upcoming games provided a chance for Robbie Henshaw to stake a claim for the No.13 jersey.
“It’s a chance to see some combinations,” he said.
“We haven’t been together as a group in terms of the Lions players and a few others through injury. This series is a chance to look at some of those combinations, and 12-13 being one of them with Jared Payne and Garry Ringrose being out injured.
“That’s the same across the board for the next three games, it does allow you to see different combinations as opposed to maybe Six Nations time when things are a bit different.”
Henshaw should get 13 to face South Africa, though, with Stuart McCloskey and Bundee Aki vying to partner him in midfield.
