Ireland often wait until a Sunday evening, when weekend fixtures are complete, to make squad announcements.
It is not set in stone but the coaching staff prefer to wait until the provinces have been in action. It causes less fuss.
This Friday afternoon, barring any late changes of plan, the IRFU will announce Joe Schmidt’s extended Ireland squad for the opening two rounds of the 2017 Six Nations.
There should not be too many surprises in the squad and, given the two games on the calendar, as many as 32 players could be included. Schmidt has also been known to draft in three or four younger prospects to train with the senior squad – as Garry Ringrose and Luke McGrath did last year.
Ireland have been spared too many injuries over the past couple of months. From the senior squads selected against New Zealand [twice] and Australia, Jared Payne, Sean Cronin and Joey Carbery are out for the opening fixtures.
Ultan Dillane will hopefully get some Guinness PRO12 game time at the end of the month and prove his full fitness to Schmidt.
With such a clean bill of health, and with Ireland in good form of late, there are not too many openings in the squad for new faces. That being said, both Niall and Rory Scannell should be included in Friday’s squad announcement.
Niall Scannell has excelled as hooker for Munster this season. He has played 17 times [15 starts, three tries] and excelled in Champions Cup victories over Glasgow [home and away], Leicester [home] and Racing [away]. He was invited to the one-day training camp earlier this month.
Also expected to be included is Rory Scannell, his younger brother. 2015/16 was the centre’s proper breakthrough season but he has surpassed those performances during the current campaign.
A no-nonsense, clued-in defender, the 23-year-old has been a growing attacking force this season. Capable of taking kicks for goal, Rassie Erasmus has asked him to take on greater responsibility in the Munster midfield and to concentrate on that.
Even with Francis Saili fit again, it is Scannell [13 appearances] that is holding down the No.12 jersey and partnering Jaco Taute. He was called in as injury cover for Ireland last November but did not feature in the final squad for the Australia game.
Outside bets for inclusion, in terms of uncapped players, are Leinster wingers Adam Byrne and Rory O’Loughlin. The likelihood is that Schmidt may get them in for a closer look without including him in the main squad announcement. Darren Sweetnam may have featured were it not for his knee injury.
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