It appears that this European rugby weekend was damaging for Irish rugby in more ways than one. With only one province managing a win, and two on the receiving end of absolute trashings, the growing list of players unavailable to Schmidt is a cause for concern.
With only 174 players in the 4 squads in Ireland, resources are going to be stretched at each province with international departures and an insane number of injuries.
Will Ireland be able to compete in the Six Nations with this level of absenteeism?
As it stands, there are two full teams of players injured or unavailable for the four provinces which highlight the problem. Which teams do you think is better?
NOTE: Some stretching and cheating was used for the last number of players.
| Injured 1 | Injured 2 | Available |
|---|---|---|
| Cian Healy | Jack McGrath | James Cronin |
| Mike Sherry | Damien Varley | Rory Best |
| Ruaidhri Murphy | Nathan White * | Mike Ross |
| Iain Henderson | Mick Kearney | Devin Toner |
| Dan Tuohy | Donnacha Ryan | Paul O'Connell |
| Rhys Ruddock | Kevin McLaughlin | Peter O'Mahony |
| Chris Henry | Shane Jennings | Tommy O'Donnell |
| Sean O'Brien | Robin Copeland | Jamie Heaslip |
| Conor Murray | Cathal Sheridan | Eoin Reddan |
| Johnny Sexton | Paddy Jackson | Ian Madigan |
| Andrew Trimble | Zane Kirchner * | Simon Zebo |
| Stuart McCloskey | Craig Ronaldson | Gordon D'Arcy |
| Luke Marshall | Dave McSharry | Robbie Henshaw |
| Keith Earls * | Tiernan O'Hallorhan | Tommy Bowe |
| Stuart Olding | Ricky Andrew | Rob Kearney |
There is clearly some stretching involved when Zane Kirchner is being used. It's strangely one of the few times in Joe Schmidt's tenure that there aren't four-plus wingers out injured, meaning he'll have a full complement for choose from for the first time, giving a strong indication on who is in the driving seat for World Cup spots.
That's also why Keith Earls is included. His recent return and clear lack of match fitness means he stretches a gap. While the same excuse applies to Nathan White who is just back from a long term injury after playing part of the Connacht Eagles game last week.
The real worry is at outhalf, where the depth is stretched to the limit with Sexton's head issues and Paddy Jackson's dislocated elbow. Perhaps Ross O'Carroll Kelly can give up the tag of greatest ever player not to win a cap?
Picture credit: Sportsfile
