It's early in the week, but for the first time in this Guinness Six Nations championship it looks like Ireland head coach Andy Farrell has a full squad to work with.
Those released back to the provinces for the BKT United Rugby Championship last weekend all appear to have come through unscathed, as the squad regathered at their Carton House base on Sunday night, in preparation for Saturday’s trip to Twickenhem.
While there don't seem to have been any new injuries, a couple of existing knocks are expected to have ironed themselves out by this week.
Thursday’s open training session at the Aviva Stadium showed Garry Ringrose back operating at full speed. The centre is yet to feature in this year’s Six Nations due to a shoulder injury which has taken longer than expected to heal up.
Having returned to light training in the week leading up to the Round 3 win over Wales, the 29-year-old stepped up to full contact last week, and was unrestricted by Thursday's open day at the Aviva.
There also appears to be clarity around the availability of Hugo Keenan, who injured his knee in the win over Italy just over three weeks ago.
Thanks to the two break-weeks in the championship, the full-back has only had to miss one game with the knee issue, and it looks like he’s trending in the right direction to feature at Twickenham.
Speaking last week, Keenan was confident he would be able to resume full training early this week, and he looked to be moving freely during Thursday’s public training.
While he trained separately at the Aviva, the 27-year-old was given a hard workout by the IRFU's rehab specialist Einar Einarsson beneath the goalposts before joining up with his teammates for some sprint work.
The IRFU’s squad update on Tuesday confirmed his return to team training.
Elsewhere, Ryan Baird sat out the Thursday open session due to a back spasm, but is expected to be cleared to play, while Oli Jager and Iain Henderson are also training once again after injuries last week.
The potential return to fitness of both Ringrose and Keenan presents Farrell with some big decisions to make around his starting team, and replacements bench for Saturday’s meeting with England, with Ireland looking to move a step closer towards an unprecedented second consecutive Grand Slam.
While Ciarán Frawley filled in for Keenan with minimal fuss in the 31-7 win over Wales last time out, the latter has become arguably Ireland’s most important player in recent seasons, and if he comes through training this week, is almost certain to be brought straight back into the starting side, particularly given his ability under the high ball.
With Ringrose, Farrell has a bigger decision to make.
When fit, the Leinster co-captain has owned the Ireland number 13 jersey in recent seasons, but the form of both Robbie Henshaw and Bundee Aki cannot be ignored.
Aki’s form since the summer has rendered him virtually undroppable, while Henshaw has seized his opportunity back in the starting team impressively during this Six Nations, forming a powerful partnership with his former Connacht team-mate in the centre. Splitting that pair up at this stage of the championship would feel like a bold call.
Similarly, Stuart McCloskey has impressed in both of his appearances in the Six Nations, particularly when he filled in for Aki in the centre for the win over Italy in Round 2.
Ringrose and McCloskey’s place in Farrell’s squad this week may well be dictated by the fitness of Keenan, and the split on the replacement’s bench.
If Saturday comes too soon for Keenan, it's expected that Frawley would be retained in the 15 jersey for what would likely be an unchanged starting team from the one that defeated Wales.
For two of the first three games, Farrell has taken advantage of Frawley’s versatility by opting for a 6:2 split on the bench, and its impact in the wins over France and Wales means there’s a very good chance that the Ireland head coach will go for it again at Twickenham this weekend.
With Frawley starting at full-back, it would give Ireland out-half cover in the first XV, and with Ringrose comfortable both in the centre and on the wing, he could pip McCloskey to a place in the bench.
If Keenan is cleared to return, and Farrell stays with a 6:2 split on the bench, that complicates things for both Ringrose and McCloskey. With no out-half cover in the starting team, logic would dictate that Frawley, or potentially Harry Byrne, would be needed among the replacements and both Ringrose and McCloskey may have to watch on as a result.
The prospect of a fit Ringrose not making an Irish matchday 23 would have seemed ridiculous 12 months ago, but such is the depth in Farrell’s squad right now.
A 5:3 bench split would open the door for one of Ringrose or McCloskey to take the number 23 jersey along with Conor Murray and either Frawley or Byrne on the bench, and in that case the odd man out could be Baird, who has impressed every time he’s stepped on the pitch in this championship.
All the while, a fit and available Henderson could end up on the outside, looking in.
Some tough decisions will have to be made in the coming days, but it's a good problem to have.
Watch England v Ireland in the Under-20 Six Nations on Friday from 7pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app
Watch England v Ireland in the Guinness Six Nations on Saturday from 4.45pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app and listen to live commentary on RTÉ Radio 1
