Henderson injury may open door for Beirne

An injury doubt over Iain Henderson could open the door for Munster lock Tadhg Beirne to make a surprise Guinness Six Nations debut on Saturday when Ireland play Wales in Cardiff. Despite a stellar first season with Munster following his summer move from Welsh region the Scarlets, Beirne, 27, appeared set to miss out on any involvement in this year’s championship after a knee injury in January ruled him out of the first two rounds and then a lack of game-time saw him overlooked by the Irish management.

With Devin Toner ruled out for the rest of the tournament due to ankle surgery following the opening loss to England, and fellow starter James Ryan rested for the round-three clash with Italy, Connacht pair Quinn Roux and Ultan Dillane formed the second row in Rome, with Henderson on the bench and making his return from a dislocated finger. Henderson and Ryan started last Sunday’s win over France with Dillane on the bench and as recently as this Tuesday, assistant coach Greg Feek appeared to question Beirne’s readiness to step up for a fifth Test cap given he has only played 80 minutes of PRO14 rugby since January 19 and was ruled out last week due, in head coach Joe Schmidt’s words, being “a bit sore”.