Schmidt rewarded red-hot form as he elevated uncapped wing Jordan Larmour to Ireland’s squad for the NatWest Six Nations opener against France on February 3 and the home game with Italy seven days later. Also missing are Payne’s fellow midfielders Luke Marshall and Garry Ringrose as well as wing Craig Gilroy. One man who won’t be in Paris is France international centre Mathieu Bastareaud, has received a three-week ban for verbally abusing an opponent. The IRFU yesterday announced Ireland will host two mini-camps during the down weeks in the Six Nations schedule, both of which will feature open training sessions. Tickets are free but IRFU restrictions will “ensure a wide spread of patrons can be accommodated”.

Source: Irish Examiner January 18, 2018 00:00 UTC