It will be interesting to see what the makeup of the Irish backline will be on Friday.
After many of the Irish players had some well-deserved downtime over the past week, others were released back to their provincial sides with the ambition of getting some much-needed minutes on the pitch.
One of these players was Ulster’s Andrew Trimble.
The 32-year-old made his return from a groin injury as a 51st-minute substitute in Ireland’s bruising encounter with France at the Aviva Stadium last week.
He lined out for Ulster in their PRO 12 tie against Treviso on Friday night but suffered a bone fracture in his hand during the 80 minutes of action.
The BBC reports that the injury will rule him out of both of Ireland’s remaining two Six Nations fixtures against Wales and England.
For Schmidt, this leaves him with plenty of food for thought when you also consider the doubts surrounding Rob Kearney’s fitness and the return to action of Jared Payne.
Then you have other players in the back three positions who are really pushing for a place in the matchday 23, such as Connacht’s Tiernan O’Halloran.
The make-up of the Irish backline could well depend on the level of faith which Schmidt has in Garry Ringrose.
The youngster has performed very well for Ireland but Schmidt may look for a more physical defensive presence in midfield which could mean the thirteen shirt goes to Payne.
Nevertheless, Trimble’s injury has opened up the door for someone else to stake a claim in the matchday squad and there will undoubtedly be an extra bit of bite in Carton House this week as some players will look to put their best foot forward.
