Schmidt clips wings Gilroy and Zebo from Ireland squad

Joe Schmidt has kept his options open for filling the Ireland back-row vacancy created by injury to Sean O’Brien but has culled wings Simon Zebo and Craig Gilroy from his squad to face Scotland in Sunday’s Six Nations opener.

Head coach Schmidt yesterday narrowed down his combined senior and Wolfhounds squad, which numbered 47 players by week’s end, to 32 ahead of Ireland’s opening two games against Scotland and Wales. Both openside flankers used in the Wolfhounds’ win over England Saxons last Saturday, Tommy O’Donnell and the uncapped Jordi Murphy, have been retained to vie with Chris Henry for the No.7 jersey but starting left-wing Gilroy and his 61st-minute replacement Zebo have been axed. There was further woe for Munster loosehead prop Dave Kilcoyne, omitted from the November Tests and dropped yesterday, losing out again to his replacement of last weekend, Jack McGrath.

Munster-bound No.8 Robin Copeland and Leinster tighthead Martin Moore are the other uncapped players in Schmidt’s squad while last Saturday’s man of the match Isaac Boss has lost out to Eoin Reddan and Conor Murray in the scrum-half reckoning. Schmidt names his match-day squad on Friday.