Tadhg Furlong and Jamie Osborne are among four players who have been ruled out of Ireland's final Autumn Nations Series game against Australia on Saturday, while head coach Andy Farrell has trimmed his squad to assist with this weekend’s URC games.
Furlong had missed Ireland’s three previous games this month due to a hamstring injury, but will now have to sit out the entire November window after failing to regain full fitness.
Ryan Baird and Jacob Stockdale have also been ruled out. Baird is still following the return to play protocols after suffering a concussion in the win against Argentina earlier this month, while Stockdale suffered a hamstring injury during the 52-17 victory over Fiji last weekend.
Osborne was also injured in that game, with the versatile Leinster centre/full-back picking up a groin injury.
The 23-year-old had been involved in five games in a row since making his debut against South Africa this summer, and forwards coach Paul O’Connell (below) says he has become an influential person in the squad.
"He's a big loss, he's very versatile as well on the bench, he covers so many different positions," O’Connell said of Osborne.
"He's growing all the time and getting better all the time. It's a shame he's out. Hopefully it's nothing too serious and hopefully he's back to us soon."
The province have also released players back to the provinces, with Saturday’s game against Australia clashing with a round of games in the URC.
Ulster host Leinster on Friday (live on RTÉ Player), with Nick Timoney returning to the Ulster squad this week, while loosehead Jack Boyle has gone back to Leinster. Hooker Dave Heffernan has also left the Irish camp, and will be available for Connacht’s visit of the Bulls on Saturday (live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player).
Saturday’s meeting with the Wallabies carries the added narrative of Joe Schmidt’s return to Ireland. The former Ireland coach took over Australia after the departure of Eddie Jones last year.
Schmidt won three Six Nations titles during his six years in charge between 2013 and 2019, during which time O’Connell was a key player for the New Zealander.
And the Ireland forwards coach says his former boss has had a lasting legacy on rugby in Ireland.
"He's a fantastic coach. He was very successful with Leinster and very successful with Ireland and still has a bit of an influence in here in terms of how we play the game.
"I enjoyed it, I was an older player when he took over, I was probably hanging on a little bit and I was able to find my niche in what he was doing. I enjoyed how we played, but I probably enjoyed how he coached more than anything.
"He's a teacher, and he had a lot of teaching principles in how he coached. I played nine times against New Zealand as a played and failed to beat them and he was part of that coaching staff that broke that duck and did it again in 2018."
And Schmidt isn't the only member of the Wallabies coaching staff that O’Connell is familiar with.
"I know a lot of the coaches with them. Geoff Parling, I played with him on the Lions, and Laurie Fisher coached me in Munster and was very good to me when I first took over the job here.
"He [Fisher] helped me out a lot, I did zooms with him a little bit and chatted to him, so they have some very smart coaches who are guiding a really good group of rugby players now. They're trending very much in the right direction," he added.
Follow a live blog on Ireland v Australia on Saturday from 3.10pm on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app. Listen to live commentary on 2fm
Watch Ulster v Leinster in the URC on Friday from 7.20pm on RTÉ Player and Connacht v Bulls on Saturday from 5pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player
