Keith Earls sat out today's training session ahead of Ireland's final Six Nations encounter on Saturday against England, however, half-backs Johnny Sexton and Conor Murray came through the session.
Earls sat out the work-out as he had some “tightness” in his groin after the weekend.
“He’ll be training on Thursday,” said scrum coach Greg Feek as Ireland prepare for Saturday’s clash with England at the Aviva (5pm, live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Radio 1)
Tommy O’Donnell has a tight calf and was also rested today, while Sexton, who underwent and passed HIA protocols, and Murray, a stinger injury, both trained well.
“Johnny and Conor trained today, pretty good, they got through it,” said Feek. “Earlsy will train on Thursday…a slight groin strain.
“I think he’s still got a little bit of tightness there, same with Tommy O’Donnell, as well. He’s got a bit of a tight quad, bruise type of thing so he’ll be back on Thursday."
Fergus McFadden was chosen as the replacement for the injured Tommy Bowe and Feek explained why the 30-year-old utility back, who has 32 caps, was recalled.
“He brings a different element, not just on the pitch at training, he’s got a great personality,” said Feek.
“He’s a good team man, he mixes with the team really well. He’s got experience so he can just slot in without any stress: he can actually mentor some people as well.
“He brings a bit of abrasiveness at training, he brings a bit of realism, puts a bit of heat on the starting line-up if he’s on the bibs as well.
“He’s that type of guy that you can rely on for one week that we need him for multiple jobs at once.
“And if something arose and he had to come in for us he’d certainly give us 100%."
On Jared Payne, who trained with Ireland before the Wales game but was then released to play with Ulster, Feek said: “You got to look at the weekend, where he would slot in, who performed well, and how he is with everything else.
“He’s a great guy to have in camp, he can be quite cheeky at times but he’s good.
“We’ll just wait and see, there’s a few guys there with a few bumps so we’ll just wait. He’s always an option and if he was fully fit it would be even more of a headache.”
Without a title to play for, something which Joe Schmidt said would be a disappointment after the win over France if they were to lose to Wales, what has been the message to the players?
“Watching our game and watching England-Scotland, you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to work out that you’ve got to make the most of the opportunities,” said Feek.
“You would have heard ‘fine margins’ mentioned a lot. Scotland went through similar in the first half where they kicked to touch and it didn’t go out. They lost that opportunity to get down to their half and then they lost the line-out and then they lost three points two rucks later.
“So a similar thing with us. We got on to the field position that we were wanting. Those opportunities sometimes just don’t come up.
“And then you’re over the try-line and you get done for one of your players coming in past the ball and penalty. So we certainly had opportunities there and you really have to [take those] at this level.”
Feek, a 10-cap All Black, said that England’s bid to break New Zealand’s 18-match winning record doesn’t make the prospect of victory any sweeter for him personally.
He knows, simply, that he has a job to do.
“My priority is just to help prepare our guys for a performance this week that we’re proud of and our supporters are proud of, first and foremost,” he added.
“There are so many things outside of that that can be almost a distraction. I have huge respect for what the All Blacks and England have done in terms of the record.
"There’s nothing I can really do about it apart from my job and the same with Joe and the coach. The players are aware of that.”
