Carlow man Ed Byrne has been retained by the Ireland management as part of a 24 man squad to train for the next Six Nations game against Italy.
The group will train on Thursday and Friday this week ahead of the trip to Rome on Saturday the 27th of February.
Harry Byrne, John Cooney and Eric O’Sullivan have all been released as they provided specialist injury cover late last week.
12 players are returning to their provinces for PRO 14 action this weekend.
They are:
Leinster: Ryan Baird, Ross Byrne, Jack Conan
Munster: Craig Casey, Andrew Conway, Shane Daly, Chris Farrell
Connacht: Bundee Aki, Ultan Dillane, Dave Heffernan
Ulster: Stuart McCloskey, Tom O’Toole.
Meanwhile the French rugby squad have been forced to isolate, after a member of Fabien Galthie’s backroom team tested positive for Covid-19 following their win against Ireland on Sunday.
The unidentified backroom member of staff is the only part of the travelling group to have tested positive, with all players returning negative tests.
However, head coach Fabien Galthie’s Covid-19 test was inconclusive, with all members of the group to be retested.
The IRFU have confirmed that all tests on their players and staff have returned negative.
📄 𝗦𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗱 𝗨𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲 🟢
A 24-man Ireland squad will assemble for a two-day camp at the IRFU HPC this week, with Head Coach Andy Farrell releasing 12 players for #GuinnessPro14 game time this weekend ⤵️#ShoulderToShoulder #GuinnessSixNations #IrishRugby
— Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) February 16, 2021