Plenty of places still open

Joe Schmidt has invited Ireland’s second string to do the maths and work out there are still plenty of places up for grabs heading into the final preparations for Sunday’s Six Nations opener with Scotland.

Schmidt, along with assistant coaches Les Kiss and John Plumtree, were in Gloucester on Saturday night to witness the Irish Wolfhounds claim a hard-fought but thoroughly deserved victory over the England Saxons.

The win, in difficult conditions after a pre-match downpour, came courtesy of a first-half try apiece for Leinster half-backs Isaac Boss and Ian Madigan, and with a number of vacancies still to fill in the Test match-day squad when the Irish management select their 23 for the Aviva Stadium next weekend, Schmidt gave a number of Wolfhounds grounds for optimism.