Selection hasn't been finalised yet for Saturday’s Quilter Nations Series clash with Japan, but Johnny Sexton is expecting some rotation to the Ireland team as they look to freshen things up after a disappointing loss to New Zealand.
The Ireland squad got back down to work this afternoon after their return from Chicago, with Stuart McCloskey taking a limited part in the session.
The centre, one of Ireland’s best players in Saturday’s 26-13 defeat to the All Blacks, is carrying a groin injury which forced him off after 57 minutes at Soldier Field.
"He was excellent for the time that he was on the pitch," Sexton said of McCloskey.
"It's unfortunate for him, obviously, picking up a little strain. I don't think it's too bad though, and he was doing a bit of work with the physios today while the rest of us were training, so hoping that he'll be back involved.
"Whether it's this week or next week, I'm not sure yet, I haven't heard from Andy [Farrell] yet, but he was very impressive on the pitch.
"He started the season amazingly well, and it's great, another centre in the mix."
Head coach Andy Farrell should also find out by Wednesday morning whether or not forward Tadhg Beirne (below) will be available for selection, following his red card on Saturday for a head-high contact on New Zealand’s Beauden Barrett.
Ireland are expected to contest the red card when Beirne faces his independent disciplinary hearing this evening, and his chances of avoiding a ban have been boosted byBarrett's admission that the sending off was harsh.
With multiple frontline players shy on minutes following their British and Irish Lions exploits in the summer, it’s likely Farrell will have to retain some of those in his team in a in a bid to play them back to form, ahead of games against Australia and South Africa.
But the Ireland assistant says he does expect other members of the wider squad to be given an opportunity to shine.
"It'll be a bit of both. It’s a bit of giving guys a chance, for sure. Some of it will be selection, guys will get a chance because others didn't play that well at the weekend.
"It's always a mixture, isn't it? We need to make sure we pick a team that goes out, first of all, and tries to win the game. It's a really important game for us, as all these games are, with regards to rankings and with the World Cup draw coming up.
"So picking a team to win, first and foremost [to win], but at the same time Andy knows that in two years time, we're going to a World Cup and we need to have 40 players ready to ready to go."
The most jarring element of Saturday’s defeat was how Ireland fell apart in the final quarter.
From leading 13-7 with just over an hour player, they gave up 19 unanswered points against an All Blacks side that looked well below their best, with Farrell admitting he and his squad would be "brutally honest" with each other about what went wrong.
And Sexton says they are determined to put that frustration behind them against Japan on Saturday.
"It's a pretty disappointed camp," added the former Ireland captain.
"We feel we prepared really well over the last two weeks and we didn't get it out there on Saturday, which is the most disappointing thing. There’s nothing worse than when you prepare properly and you have a good plan and you just don't quite execute it.
"The players have been pretty open and honest, and coaches too, and come in and discussed it over the last couple of days and figured out why. That's the most important thing, we’ve got to take the learnings from it and make sure that it doesn't happen again.
"It's trying to turn the page, really, taking the lessons. Andy's always very good at that when you're in the environment, he always reframes things, we move on pretty quick, but he also keeps us accountable and makes us realise that it wasn't good enough.
"Sometimes you can put it down to prep or do guys take their eye off the ball a bit, but it just didn't go to plan on the day and we've got some good reasons for that now and we'll make sure that it doesn't happen again."
Watch Ireland v Japan in the Quilter Nations Series on Saturday from 12pm on RTÉ2 and the RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on the RTÉ News App and on rte.ie/sport. Listen to live commentary on RTÉ Radio 1 Extra
