Kidney must wait on fitness of Duffy

IRISH coach Declan Kidney will not know until next week if Connacht full-back Gavin Duffy is available for the start of the Six Nations.

The 29-year old has been out for a month with a medial knee ligament injury and has not recovered sufficiently for Connacht’s trip to Bayonne on Saturday.

The Ballina native, who has won ten caps, is being monitored for the full-back position given the injuries to Rob Kearney and Geordan Murphy. Connacht coach Eric Elwood had hoped Duffy would be fully recovered for this weekend but expects him to play the following week against Cavalieri Prato and put himself in line for an Irish recall.