The odds against Jared Payne being parachuted back into the Irish midfield against Wales at the Principality Stadium this coming Friday night were always against him.
And they and appear to have increased further with confirmation that the Ulster centre cum fullback had to sit out training at the Irish squad’s base in Carton House yesterday.
This was due to the bruising he sustained in his leg after an early tackle when completing his first full game since suffering a lacerated kidney during Ireland’s win over Australia last November in Ulster’s victory over Treviso last Friday.
Payne had returned to action with a 20-minute cameo at the end of Ulster's bonus point win away to Zebre last Sunday week, but along with Tiernan O'Halloran, Joey Carbery and Dan Leavy, was obliged to sit out training yesterday. With today being a rest day, tomorrow affords him his only real on-field session this week.
Significantly, both Payne's appearances for Ulster were at outside centre, while Rob Kearney was reported to have trained fully yesterday after recovering from the abductor strain which ended his involvement against France half an hour before the end.
Payne's ability to also cover fullback increases his chances of being named on the bench, especially given Andrew Trimble has been ruled out, although even here forwards coach Simon Easterby said management would have to be convinced of Payne's match fitness.
“He obviously ticks a few boxes in that he can cover centre and fullback,” said Easterby, before adding: “We have other players as well with that ability. We’ve just got to be happy that Jared has spent enough time with us.”
“He’s been a long time out of this group. To have him back in is great, but it’s important that we feel comfortable that he’s had enough time with us – not just in the environment, but on the pitch.”
Big step up
Nor is 100 minutes against Zebre and Treviso ideal after a three-month lay-off.
"You've seen for years how different a Six Nations game is, even compared to some autumn internationals," said Easterby. "They are incredibly fierce and a lot of ball in play time. It is a big change, a big step up from Pro12 rugby. It's a bit difficult for players who have been out for a long period to try and get up to that level really quickly."
By comparison, there are no such fitness concerns regarding Ringrose. Although still in his rookie Test season, the 21-year-old has impressed the management with his reading of the game, and what Easterby described as his extremely calm, composed temperament.
“He’s very diligent. He gets on with his job. He works incredibly hard at all aspects of his game. He’s somebody who sees things early. It’s nice to watch him play because there’s not too many of those players around with the ability to see things almost before they happen.
“He’s still learning. There are a lot of things he’ll want to improve on. All areas of his game will be fine-tuned over the next few years. Let’s not put too much pressure on him. He’s a quality individual who hasn’t just come on the scene, we’ve known about his quality for a long time. But in his first season of international rugby he’s been accelerated into that position and he’s dealt with everything that’s been thrown at him so far.
“He’ll be on a massive learning curve as well. That’s not to say he won’t make mistakes, but he’s probably one of those players who will only have to learn once from a mistake and then move on to something else. He has that ability to keep moving forward.”
Having lived most of his life in Wales, where he played and coached with the Scarlets for 15 seasons, Easterby has a better insight into the Red Dragonhood than most, and he knows how they’ll have been hurting in the wake of successive defeats to England and Scotland.
National sport
“I suppose it’s the national sport. There’s a lot of expectation, media, ex-players, fans, who have an opinion. For them it’ll be, not about righting wrongs, but they’ll feel they’ve been performing in games. The England game in particular, they will feel like they were the better team, but England found a way to win. They maybe felt like they threw that game away.”
“They’re not a million miles away. They are incredibly passionate and proud, but so is every nation, and we have to go over there and match them, fire with fire. We have to match them physically, and we have to be smart in the way we play the game.
"We certainly didn't give ourselves the best chance two years ago when we went there and gave them a 12-0 lead," added Easterby, in reference to the defeat two seasons ago when Wayne Barnes, also Friday's match referee, whistled Ireland off the park in the first quarter.
“So it’s important that our discipline is good across the board and we work with the referee and make sure we’re on song there, because they are the sort of team that builds momentum and build access into the game, then they are very difficult to stop, because they have so many quality individuals . . .”
Ireland had a 100 per cent return from 22 lineouts against France, although Easterby acknowledged that “the quality of those 22 weren’t 22 good ones” and that Wales will be more competitive in the air than Italy or France.
He also confirmed they were awaiting communication from the Wales RFU regarding their agreement or otherwise for the roof at the Principality Stadium being open, and intimated that Ireland’s response will be weather dependent.
