The three centurions, with a combined haul of 376 caps, bade arrivederci in Rome and so at around 4pm on Wednesday for the first time in over a decade there will be no Cian Healy, Peter O’Mahony and Conor Murray when the Ireland squad is unveiled for an autumn Test programme.
The normally indestructible Hugo Keenan has also been sidelined, thus shining a light on the 15 jersey which he has taken hold of in recent years. Yet the squad for the upcoming games against New Zealand in Chicago and at home to Japan, Australia and South Africa is likely to have a very familiar hue, albeit sprinkled with some of those nine Test debutants in the summer against Georgia and Portugal.
There are also sizeable question marks about the availability of last season’s captain Caelan Doris as he nears a return from the shoulder injury which scuppered his hopes of playing with, and captaining, the Lions.
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