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18th February 2025
01:37pm GMT
Caelan Doris, Tadhg Furlong, and Rónan Kelleher have all been ruled out of Saturday's Six Nations clash with Wales at the Principality Stadium (kick-off, 2.15pm).
Doris' remarkable streak of 42 test matches in a row is set to end after the No 8 suffered a knee injury against Scotland in round two.
Furlong continues to deal with a calf issue, and has not togged out for Ireland since last summer's tour to South Africa, despite being named in the Autumn Nations Series and Six Nations squads.
Hooker Kelleher has been on a good run of form of late, having struggled with injuries in the past, but will miss this weekend due to a neck issue. Fellow Leinster man Gus McCarthy will likely come onto the bench for Ireland, with Dan Sheehan starting.
Second-row Joe McCarthy has missed the first two games of this year's Championship but is in line to play on Saturday, as is Connacht winger Mack Hansen, who missed the win over Scotland.
In better news, James Lowe and his wife Arnica received their Irish citizenship last Friday.
The New Zealand-born winger said: “It was obviously a very proud moment. We’ve been in Ireland coming up to eight years now.
“We’ve had two beautiful children (Nico and Renn) here, and we see our future here in Ireland.
“I was in here (at the IRFU High Performance) in the morning (on Friday). We trained against the Under-20s, and then straight in the car straight after training.
“Popped home, picked up my wife and one of the kids, and we were off to the Convention Centre. It was awesome.
“I remember when I first arrived here by myself, it was pitch black at 4.25 in the afternoon in November! It has gone by so, so quick.
“We’ve loved our time (here), we’ve loved what rugby has given us. The opportunities that it has presented, and then to represent Ireland in rugby has been one of the best experiences of our lives.
“It’s something that we cherish every day and hopefully, moving forward, a couple more kids will be able to play for Ireland.”
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