Dave Kilcoyne set to miss Ireland’s opening games

Munster prop Dave Kilcoyne looks set to miss Ireland’s opening two games of the NatWest 6 Nations but Joe Schmidt is confident Ulster wing Jacob Stockdale will return to training by the end of the week.

The head coach delivered the latest injury update ahead of Ireland’s championship opener against France in Paris in nine days as he attended yesterday’s Six Nations launch in London, leaving his players on their day off during a five-day camp in Spain.

Loosehead prop Kilcoyne failed to make the plane to Valencia last Monday to begin his recovery from a knee injury suffered the day before in Munster’s Champions Cup pool win over Castres.