Expect some Six Nations squad surprises and a gradual changing of the guard

Ireland's Six Nations squad will be announced on Wednesday, and it lands between two hugely exciting and dramatic rounds of Champions Cup action.

Andy Farrell is dealing with a few injury concerns that will change the makeup of his squad for this tournament, especially when you compare it to his last squad announcement for the World Cup.

The front row will have a few changes for sure. David Kilcoyne has been ruled out for the next few months and Rob Herring is set to miss the tournament completely. It's more than likely we'll see Herring’s Ulster teammate, Tom Stewart, come in there but the prop positions are still up in the air.

Cian Healy may well have a job to do for another tournament, to allow the likes of Jack Boyle more time to develop with Leinster before stepping up to an international role. Boyle is a strong candidate for one of Farrell’s favoured development positions.

Oli Jager was brought home after a long stint in New Zealand with the Canterbury Crusaders. You’d have to think that despite his recent injury against Connacht, he’ll be brought in to camp to push Finlay Bealham and Tadhg Furlong. He certainly wasn’t brought back to the Irish system for no reason.

The second row picks itself with the form of James Ryan, Tadhg Beirne, Iain Henderson and Joe McCarthy in particular.

Whether Beirne is selected primarily as a second row or hybrid back-row is one of the topics of conversation which may affect the selection of other back row players.

Ireland has never struggled to develop options at back-row, and with the arrival of Thomas Ahern as a challenger to the Ryan Baird style of blindside flanker, you’d wonder what role Farrell has in mind for Peter O’Mahony [above] or Beirne.

While Ahern is performing well for