Tadhg Furlong appears to be edging closer to a return to action this weekend, with the prop taking a full part in Ireland's training session ahead of Saturday’s crucial Guinness Six Nations meeting with France.
The tighthead has only played once since mid-October, having struggled with calf and hamstring injuries, but took a full part in this afternoon’s training, which included full-contested scrummaging.
"We've just done scrums just now so it was good to see Tadhg in a scrum, a fully-contested scrum," national scrum coach John Fogarty said.
"Tomorrow is the big day [of training] but we did some entries today and it was good. So we'll see how he goes.
"He has trained with Leinster, setpiece stuff. He's been building the whole time back. It's one that has to be right for everyone.
"From my end, it was great to see him back in a scrum, I haven't seen him in a little bit. He was good. Again, we'll see how he goes.
"He trained today, he's full of energy and he took part in the whole session."
Captain Caelan Doris (above) and Jack Conan also trained fully, with the former missing the round three win against Wales due to a knee injury, while Conan suffered a back injury in that game.
Rónan Kelleher’s involvement was limited in this afternoon's session, with the hooker now looking unlikely to be available due to a neck issue.
"He [Doris] is a world-class player and he’s a great leader. So yeah, it would huge. Again, he was on the field today, he trained well.
"Hopefully, all going well, he trains tomorrow and gets through what he needs to, and the team will be named on Thursday.
"You'll do the best thing for the team. Tomorrow is our big day, you get through that and you're healthy, then we'll see.
"It's a huge week, isn't it? So you want to do right by the entire squad. You want to pick the best team you can and they'll be monitored throughout the week. Get through tomorrow, etc. and if they're good to go, they're good to go."
With three wins from three so far in the championship, Ireland would have one hand on the trophy with a win against Les Bleus on Saturday, although a defeat would leave them with very slim hopes of a third championship on the bounce due to France’s superior points difference.
And Fogarty (above) admits the stakes don’t get much higher than they are this week.
"Yeah, week-on-week you want to improve your performance, so there is an internal pressure. So outside of anyone who is playing, there is always an internal pressure within the group to improve.
"You want to create a great performance for ourselves, for our supporters, for Irish rugby, so we are very conscious that that’s the mood within the camp the whole time – we want to get better the whole time and that builds its own pressure.
"Playing against France is so exciting. The opportunity to go and put a great performance on the field against one of the world’s best teams, it doesn’t get any better."
