Joe Schmidt has challenged Ireland’s fringe players to use the upcoming interprovincial derbies to stake their claim for places in his squad for June’s three Test tour to South Africa.

Ireland 35 Scotland 25: DRIP, drip, drip. One by one the names have been dropping off Joe Schmidt’s tongue throughout this Six Nations campaign. They are the players who represent Ireland’s future and who could well be carrying the nation’s hopes into the 2019 World Cup.

France 21 England 31: George Ford insists England’s Grand Slam triumph is merely the beginning for a team blessed with “endless potential”.

Ulster hooker Best assumed the captaincy for the RBS 6 Nations after Paul O'Connell's retirement, guiding injury-hit Ireland to a respectable third-placed finish.

The Ireland Women produced their most complete performance of the Six Nations to run out 45-12 winners over Scotland at sunny Donnybrook.

CJ Stander has launched an impassioned defence of "tough guy" Johnny Sexton, insisting Ireland's premier playmaker would never play-act.

Wales assistant coach Robin McBryde says prop Samson Lee is not someone “distracted by things on the outside”.

Ireland 26 Scotland 18: Despite a ragged performance Ireland signed off on their championship campaign with a win over Scotland thanks to a bit of luck and a dominant second-half.

Simon Lewis looks at how both teams match up.

Ireland captain Rory Best admits a softly-softly approach to training for an inexperienced and injury-hit squad led to a drop in standards at the start of the Six Nations campaign.

Ulster hooker Best hailed Schmidt as "one of the best coaches I've worked with" as he called on the former Leinster boss to remain with Ireland beyond next summer.

Head coach Schmidt's current Ireland contract runs until summer 2017, when the former Leinster boss' services will be in high demand.

Tommy O'Donnell comes in at openside flanker in place of Josh van der Flier in the only change in Joe Schmidt’s Ireland team for the Six Nations clash with Scotland.

The smiles are back and the spring has returned to players’ steps but Ireland wing Andrew Trimble fears that Scotland might be in the mood to rain on his side’s end-of-season parade this Saturday evening.

England prop Joe Marler currently remains available for Saturday's Grand Slam match against France in Paris after escaping sanction for striking Wales' Rob Evans.

Asked for his views on the Marler-Lee episode, Wales head coach Gatland said: "Look, we have no issue. It was just a bit of banter, as far as I am concerned. And that's the way that Samson said it.”

Ireland must ignore any threat of slipping into a World Cup 2019 pool of death ahead of Saturday's RBS 6 Nations clash with Scotland, according to Conor O'Shea.

Ireland's most-capped hooker sat out Tuesday's training with a tight calf in what assistant coach Richie Murphy deemed a precautionary move.

Mike Brown has revealed that the abuse he received from Welsh Twitter trolls in the build-up to Saturday's 25-21 victory inspired his best performance of theSix Nations.

Kearney missed Saturday's 58-15 win over Italy with hamstring trouble, and after further assessment on Monday Ireland have been forced to admit defeat in the British and Irish Lion's fitness bid.

The Rugby Football Union released a statement on Sunday afternoon revealing that Marler apologised to Lee at half-time.

Ireland 58 Italy 15: Out of the darkness and into the light. Given the woefully inept quality of the opposition provided at the Aviva Stadium it is difficult to declare categorically Ireland have emerged from the gloom of weeks past and stepped blinking into a new dawn.

For a small town, Enniskillen has given birth to more than its share of international sportsmen, amongst them Olympic gold medal sprinter Robert Kerr, champion heavyweight boxer Gordon Ferris and ex-Celtic goalkeeper Michael McGovern.