Ireland head coach Andy Farrell will have a full deck to choose from for Friday's Guinness Six Nations opener away to France in Marseille.
The Grand Slam champions continued preparations for their title defence at their warm-weather training base in Quinta do Lago in Portugal, with all 37 members of the squad taking a full part in this morning's session.
Farrell is due to name his starting XV on Wednesday before the squad departs for the south of France, ahead of what will be their first game since the World Cup quarter-final exit to New Zealand in October.
And although the squad are heading into something of a new era since the retirement of captain Johnny Sexton, the message from the camp is that this championship will be about evolution rather than revolution.
"For us, it's building on what we've done over the last few months and couple of years," scrum coach John Fogarty (below) said.
"You can call it what you want, that's what we're focusing on.
"We have a good body of work done, there's really good experience built into the squad, and there's been some tough days over the last number of years, and there's nice resilience built into the squad.
"We're going to build on top of what we've done, and it's unbelievably exciting to have our first game.
"What an opportunity to go and show what we can add a little bit different, or a little bit more, in Marseille with a packed crowd against a world-class side like France.
"It's a brilliant opportunity in front of us, we need to go and make it happen, make a performance happen for ourselves."
The four Irish provinces have experienced mixed form since the World Cup exit just over three months ago, with Leinster losing just twice this season, and Munster, Ulster and Connacht struggling for a consistent run of results.
But Fogarty insists the World Cup frustration hasn't damaged the confidence of the group.
"I don't think that belief has slipped away," said the 46-year-old.
"That belief is 100% there in the squad. You can see it in mini-meetings, unit meetings, how the players are interacting with each other. They're preparing to perform now.
"Andy [Farrell] says 'go and make it happen'. There's a lot of belief within the squad, a lot of clarity and it's going to be difficult because of a huge crowd, France at home in Marseille. It's incredibly exciting.
"It'll be tough, but that's the challenge, to go and make it happen. Nice clear heads, play our game, let's go."
Ireland were impressive 32-19 winners against France when the sides met in last year's championship at the Aviva Stadium, but Farrell's side have come off second best on each of their last two away days against the French, losing at the Stade de France in both 2020 and 2022.
Friday night's game (8pm) will be in the unfamiliar surroundings of the Stade Velodrome in Marseille, with Paris out of commission ahead of the Olympic Games in the summer.
The 30-24 defeat in Paris two years ago saw Ireland struggle with the physicality of the French pack, particularly at scrum time, Fogarty says they have focused a lot of their attention on the battle up front.
"They're a big side, a huge side," he said.
"They're settled as well. I know they have a couple of guys missing, but they're settled, just like us. They've a lot of power and weight in their side.
"We talk a lot about being nice and smart in how we enter contact in our maul, in our scrum, our lineout, being nice and clear in our heads.
"Weight is one thing, but we feel we're a big, powerful side with great experience, we've come through a few years now and have taken learnings.
"This is the type of pack we want to play against. This is the arena we want to be in. It's about the lads getting after it now."
It's been suggested that Leinster second row Joe McCarthy's (above) size and power may well be utilised on Friday night, with the 22-year-old's abrasive style of play catching the eye in recent months.
It's just over two years to the day since the lock made his debut for Leinster, and Fogarty has been impressed with his development.
He said: "Joe is a great character. He brings his energy to everything he does. He's done that from the second he's come in here.
"In a gym session he's a great guy to watch and be around. Jason Cowman [strength and conditioning coach] says that the group Joe's in has high energy and there's a bit of banter and craic, but there's a lot of competing going on. Joe has brought a lot of that energy with him.
"Every player goes through a period coming into a side, and you see him with Leinster flying off the line a few times.
"I think he's brought a bit of calmness to what he's doing, on the back of understanding what's needed over the last year or 18 months. That's evident over the last couple of games.
"I think he's brought a little bit of that. You need to make mistakes sometimes. Some players are right on the edge of what they do.
"You need to make some mistakes and learn your way. We're in a good spot and Joe's in a great spot, he's nice and clear in what he needs to do."
Watch Wales v Scotland in the Under-20 Six Nations on Friday from 7.05pm on RTÉ Player.
Follow a live blog on France v Ireland in the Guinness Six Nations on Friday from 7.30pm on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app and listen to live commentary on RTÉ Radio 1
