Early on Tuesday, 'hopeful' was the line coming out of the Irish camp regarding the fitness of Jared Payne ahead of Sunday's Pool D decider between Ireland and France.
Since then, the situation appears to have improved with Ireland kicking coach Richie Murphy telling the Irish Times' Gerry Thornley that the centre - along with Rob Kearney - should to be available to face Les Bleus.
Everyone’s fit and healthy from the weekend and Rob and Jared look to be fine and ready for selection for this week.
Payne missed last weekend's clash with Italy due to a bruised foot and was replaced in the starting line-up by Keith Earls. Given the lacklustre nature of Ireland's performance against the Italians - and the importance of Sunday's game - it would seem likely that Joe Schmidt will revert to his first choice centre partnership of Payne and Robbie Henshaw.
Rob Kearney also missed Sunday's win against Italy due to a glute injury.
Picture credit: Sportsfile
