Ultan Dillane hopes classy cameo effort can keep him in squad

Ultan Dillane could have been speaking for his fellow Ireland debutants by expressing hope his Twickenham entrance into Test rugby was impressive enough to keep him in the match-day squad for the rest of the RBS 6 Nations campaign.

Defeat to England on Saturday killed off any remaining hope of Ireland making it three titles in a row but with Italy and Scotland visiting Dublin this month the outgoing champions still have plenty to prove, not least Dillane and fellow new boys Stuart McCloskey and Josh van der Flier.

Despite the 21-10 loss that leaves Ireland still searching for a first victory of the 2016 campaign, the trio of rookies all made impressive contributions for head coach Joe Schmidt and Connacht lock Dillane, 22, is now hoping his 15-minute turn off the replacements’ bench will be enough to keep him in contention to face Italy at the Aviva Stadium on March 12.