We knew it was bad. We didn’t know it was this bad.
The national team have been plagued by injuries ever since the final game of Pool D at the Rugby World Cup.
Up until that point, only Tommy O’Donnell and Jared Payne had been ruled out through injury after the squad had assembled in late June. Two injuries over three months and seven games [including warm-ups] wasn’t bad going.
And then, the wheels came off.
Ireland lost Paul O’Connell, Peter O’Mahony and Johnny Sexton in one game. Ireland got knocked out of the World Cup in the quarter finals and had Tommy Bowe stretchered off in that game.
The hits have kept coming in 2016. Nine senior players are out for the entire championship. Four more are serious doubts while another four – Sexton, Keith Earls, Simon Zebo and Payne – are not yet confirmed fully fit to face England.
On Friday, we listed the players Ireland will have to do without for the coming fxtures.
This morning, The Irish Times goes a step further and includes all of the players currently missing national and provincial action.
The list is long, and unsettling.
IRELAND SQUAD
Seán O’Brien, Mike McCarthy, Dave Kearney, Cian Healy, Marty Moore, Luke Fitzgerald, Mike Ross, Jared Payne, Iain Henderson, Tommy Bowe, Peter O’Mahony, Keith Earls, Simon Zebo.
ULSTER
Peter Nelson, Luke Marshall, Dan Tuohy.
LEINSTER
Hayden Triggs, Jack Conan, Ed Byrne, Royce Burke Flynn, Isaac Boss
CONNACHT
Ben Marshall, Jack Carty, Shane Delahunt, Andrew Browne, Quinn Roux, Nepia Fox-Matamua, John Cooney, Dave McSharry, Rory Parata, Darragh Leader
MUNSTER
BJ Botha, Duncan Casey, Stephen Archer, Dave O’Callaghan.
