What a whirlwind.
The IRFU were scrambling, this afternoon, at Carton House when Joe Schmidt was forced to withdraw Simon Zebo and Keith Earls from his squad at the last-minute.
Schmidt has made three changes to his XV, and a couple of bench tweaks, for Saturday’s game at Stade de France.
Rob Kearney and Sean O’Brien are both drafted in for men who picked up injuries last week – Simon Zebo and Tommy O’Donnell. Keith Earls is also out so late call-up Dave Kearney replaces him on the left wing. Schmidt told us:
“We were trying to clarify the fitness of Simon Zebo and Keith Earls… they got through training but we just felt they were not 100%…
“Normally we name the team before training, they would be fully fit and everyone would have absolute clarity on their roles. It’s frustrating.”
The Kiwi said Ireland’s preparations have been hindered by the six-day turnaround to this match.
“We trained for 32 minutes on Tuesday and 63 minutes this morning. Our preparations have been limited,” said Schmidt.
Schmidt confirmed that Johnny Sexton is fully fit after some ‘neck compression’ sustained against Wales. The head coach said Paddy Jackson would not be travelling as a reserve for the side.
“We’ve won twice ever in France. I don’t think you could ever go to France confident as an Irish player,” says Sexton.
Ireland’s match with France kicks off at 2:25 [Irish time] on Saturday.
