Scrum is the Azzurri’s ‘mojo’, says Mike Ross

The game gets faster, the hits bigger and the scrums last longer but Mike Ross just keeps rumbling along, Ireland’s must-play prop and the man on which Joe Schmidt relies the most.

The tight-head will tomorrow play his 23rd game of the 25 Tests Schmidt has overseen since assuming the head coach role in the autumn of 2013, looking to ruin an Italian scrum he describes as “the mojo” of the Azzurri’s game and help Ireland into the World Cup quarter-finals.

The statistic is a tribute both to Ross’s durability and his importance to one of his team’s strongest weapons although the 35-year-old from Cork sees his achievement slightly differently.