Joe Schmidt facing Mike Ross dilemma

Mike Ross made light of five weeks spent idling on the sidelines to deliver three solid performance for Ireland last November and he may yet have to do much the same again, starting in Rome next month.

Injury was the curtailing factor late last year when the tighthead returned to lock down Joe Schmidt’s scrum but it is a dip in form that may have him turning his attention towards the Six Nations opener against Italy with cobwebs to shift from his feet. Leinster opted for Marty Moore to start against Castres on Saturday and then selected Tadhg Furlong as cover. Neither did anything to reopen the door for the senior man.

It makes for a sudden and dramatic plunge down the pecking order for a man who has been so integral to club and country since moving home from Harlequins just when John Hayes was retiring to his farm in Cappamore.