James Ryan looks to bring athleticism to Ireland U20s

Joe Schmidt may have made it a mission to expand Ireland’s strength in depth at Test level but it still takes little to reveal just how thin on the ground are those players who are eligible, ready and able to wear the green jersey.

Tight head used to be the apex of our nightmares in that regard but the penance of praying for the well-being of a John Hayes or Mike Ross has been eased somewhat, with the emergence of younger props such as Marty Moore and Tadhg Furlong.

Injuries do leave Schmidt light on that side of the front row ahead of the Six Nations opener with Wales but Ross’s enforced absence is still not quite the cataclysm it once would have been. These days it is a shortage of second rows that causes most furrowed brows.