BRENDAN O’BRIEN: Wait may be over but Madigan not laughing yet

When Ian Madigan was photographed staring at his mobile phone during yesterday’s Leinster training session in UCD it looked likely to be the ideal snap with which to accompany the inevitable raft of articles dedicated to his omission from the Ireland squad.

Headlines such as ‘Madigan awaits Ireland’s call’ were begging to be written but little could anyone know just how fitting the pictures would actually prove to be just hours later when news emerged that the out-half had been offered a belated squad role at Carton House.

All’s well that ends well? Maybe not. Madigan will surely play a good deal of rugby for his country at some point but the fact that it took Dave McSharry’s niggling groin for the 23-year-old to be summoned in a week when Jonathan Sexton is unavailable remains an apposite point.