Everyone was expecting a big, fat ‘unchanged’ ahead of St. Patrick’s Day’s Ireland team announcement.
With nothing but pride to play for, many predicted that Josh van der Flier would get his third consecutive start at openside flanker as Ireland are now in a position in which the only benefit to gain from the final tie of the tournament would have been experience for the younger players.
But when the teamsheets were distributed at Carton House, the Leinster man was nowhere to be seen and in his place was Munster’s Tommy O’Donnell.
It was one of the first questions asked of Joe Schmidt who explained that van der Flier had been struggling after the wear-and-tear of the last two games having caught up with the 22-year-old.
“Josh has shipped a couple of knocks in the last two games, he took another knock on Monday. It’s been an attritional few weeks for Josh, with big 80 mins back to back. He’s fit to play, but carrying a few knocks,” said Schmidt.
“Conversely, Tommy has trained very well. He hasn’t had the luckiest of preparations in previous times. We’re looking forward to him contributing with an athletic performance.
“Josh has involved himself a lot, contact work has been high and we felt it was pertinent to give him a rest.
“We’ve tried to balance continuity with opportunity during this Six Nations and we’re hoping it might bear a bit of fruit down the line.”
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