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24th January 2018
01:46pm GMT

France may seek to bring Ireland into the trenches, as they did for their 2016 Six Nations win in Paris, but Ireland now possess a backline with the potential to blitz them off the park. Jacob Stockdale has four tries in four Tests, Keith Earls and Robbie Henshaw are in sensational form, Rob Kearney is a player revitalised, and Jordan Larmour has shot his hand up for selection.
"Jacob should be right to train by the end of this week," Schmidt told The Irish Examiner, "and then he’d be in the mix for France." As for Larmour, the next few training sessions could yet see him force his coach's hand. Schmidt commented:
"It’s potentially a chance now to accelerate his progress into a matchday squad and a starting XV. "The most visible things are his ability to accelerate and change direction, but he’s skillful, effective in the air, good passing skills and commits to the physical as well. He’s a really good kid and that’s appealing as well."That 2016 Six Nations saw the likes of Ultan Dillane and Josh van der Flier come in for debuts while Garry Ringrose was used from the off in last year's championship. If players are good enough and present Ireland with a better opportunity of victory, Schmidt will have no hesitation in throwing them in.
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