Ireland’s evergreen prop Mike Ross has his immediate future mapped out

Mike Ross has no intention of being shunted backwards just yet.

The Leinster tighthead is determined to fight for his place at both provincial and international level, and has no intention of packing in the Test game just yet. A late bloomer, Ross has become indispensable to Ireland, earning 56 caps since 2009 - all but two of them coming after his return to Leinster in 2011. Remarkably he has started all but two Tests under Joe Schmidt - his only days off being this year's home warm-up defeat to Wales and the pool match against Romania. Asked about his future in the immediate aftermath of Sunday's 43-20 defeat to Argentina, Ross spoke with enthusiasm about getting back into the blue of Leinster and battling with his young understudies Marty Moore and Tadhg Furlong for the No3 jersey. "I certainly hope so. It's up to Joe, really," he said when asked if he would play for Ireland again. "Myself I will be back at Leinster and I will have to fight it out again with Marty and Tadhg. See how things go with Leo [Cullen, Leinster coach]." Schmidt's dependence on Ross has afforded little opportunity to assess the Test qualities of his understudies, with 34-year-old Connacht prop Nathan White the preferred back-up for the World Cup. Neither White or Ross (35) are likely to feature in Japan, which means the likes of Furlong and Moore will have to be properly blooded over the next couple of seasons. "We just have to suck it up," said Ross of Ireland's disappointment. "A bunch of us won't be there at the next World Cup but hopefully the lads that will be learned a bit from today."