Bench impact gives Simon Easterby big decisions to make for trip to Scotland
While the continued absences of Joe McCarthy and Tadhg Furlong remove two decisions from the equation for Simon Easterby ahead of Sunday's Guinness Six Nations meeting with Scotland, the interim Ireland head coach does have some big calls to make between now and when he names his matchday squad on Friday morning.
As it stands, it doesn't appear as if injuries will dictate his selection. Finlay Bealham was a scare over the weekend after he caught his ankle under a ruck in the second half of Saturday's win against against England, but the fact that another tighthead hasn’t been called up bodes well for his chances of playing.
Similarly, Mack Hansen trained fully on Wednesday, and appears to be on course for inclusion after suffering a bad cut on his knee which required stitches.
The main selection decisions facing Easterby, it seems, are positive decisions. The performance and impact offered by the Irish replacements last Saturday has given the Irish management team food for thought; reward the game changers, or stick with a winning formula?
The three replacements from last week pushing hardest for places in the starting XV this Sunday will be Dan Sheehan, Jack Conan and Jack Crowley. Sheehan and Conan’s introduction on 50 minutes brought a new energy to the Irish performance, while Crowley was also brought on before the hour mark and had arguably his best outing in a green shirt.
It was the latest in a string of positive displays from the Munster out-half (above), who paid a big price for his team’s poor start to the season when he lost his starting place in the Ireland side to Sam Prendergast in November.
If Andy Farrell had made that decision back in November to lay a challenge down in front of Crowley, the 25-year-old has