Prop crisis shows how shallow the Irish depth chart really is

When Jack Boyle went down 20 minutes into the game in Galway, throats ran dry, all the more so when he had to be stretchered off the field.

PROP CRISIS: Leinster's Jack Boyle leaves the field on a motorised stretcher due to an injury. Pic: ©INPHO/James Crombie

Ireland’s provincial coaches love to wax lyrical about players who blossom earlier than expected, make the grade when it looked like the boat had been missed, or just make it to their base of operations via a route that is anything but the norm.

Conor Bartley’s promotion from long-standing AIL tighthead to Munster debut at the age of 30 this season has been heralded by Munster boss Clayton McMillan, not least after he chalked up a first Champions Cup appearance last month.