Ireland coach Andy Farrell is excited to have even more options at his disposal heading into next weekend’s clash with England after confirming Caelan Doris and Robbie Henshaw are both fit to play.
Leinster No.8 Doris made his international debut in Round 1 of the 2020 Guinness Six Nations but was forced off after just five minutes of the 19-12 triumph over Scotland with a head injury.
That caused him to miss last weekend’s win over Wales but the 21-year-old is available for selection for the Round 3 trip to Twickenham
“The reason we kept Caelan available, he missed most of last week, so [we wanted] to keep him up to speed,” said Farrell.
“It was good for him after his return [to play] stuff. He’s in the clear now and he’s had a good couple of days which is great to see from him.”
Centre Henshaw suffered a head injury in the victory over Wales but was also present for Ireland’s training session in Cork and Farrell confirmed his availability to face England.
Ireland were due to hold an open training session in front of 3,500 spectators at the Cork Institute of Technology on Thursday but torrential rain forced the session to be relocated to Musgrave Park and closed to the public.
Farrell was disappointed to miss out on an opportunity to connect with the fans, although pleased with the quality of the behind-closed-doors session that did take place.
With two wins from two in the 2020 Guinness Six Nations, Ireland will be pleased with their Championship to date, yet the coach insists the depth of talent in the country means no player should be resting on their laurels.
“As we’ve said all along, competition for places is key for us,” added Farrell. “Obviously, we’ll make the right call for the team along the way.
“We’re interested to see, not just the boys that are going, but the boys that we’ve been looking at and scanning over for the last three or four months. We’re interested to see how the provincial rugby goes this weekend in general.
“We know the task in hand [against England at Twickenham]. We know what awaits you when you get there.
“We know that England are pretty proud to play at home like we are to play at the Aviva. We feel like we’re in a decent place.
“We’re looking forward to next week. We’ve had a good couple of days here. I’m sure the lads are relishing coming into camp on Monday night, looking for a big week ahead. We’ll need to be like that.”
