Munster boss van Graan cheered by return of Ireland trio

Munster boss Johann van Graan will welcome back a trio of internationals for his side’s Guinness PRO14 trip to Cardiff Blues on Saturday as he attempts to guide the province through a four-game block without his Ireland front-liners.

Loosehead prop Dave Kilcoyne, centre Rory Scannell and fly-half Ian Keatley have all been released from the Ireland squad, as the NatWest 6 Nations moves into a rest week after two rounds in which the national side beat France and Italy. Neither Keatley nor Scannell featured in those victories, though the latter travelled with the squad to Paris as 24th man at Stade de France, while the former spent the first two weeks of Irish camp nursing a knee injury sustained in Munster’s Champions Cup pool win over Castres in Limerick on January 21. That forced the prop out of both the training trip to Spain and the France preparation week, when he was replaced in the squad by provincial rival James Cronin.

Having completed his rehabilitation with Munster, Kilcoyne rejoined the Ireland squad at Cronin’s expense, last week, but was not selected in the matchday squad for last Saturday’s Italy game.