Ireland have no fresh injury concerns before facing Australia in Sydney in their Nations Championship opener. Forwards coach Paul O'Connell indicated that the squad is training fully ahead of the first match of the July block.
That update matters because Andy Farrell's preparations had already been disrupted by injuries to Jack Crowley, Andrew Porter and captain Caelan Doris. Tadhg Beirne and Stuart McCloskey had also been dealing with fitness issues, but O'Connell's latest assessment suggests there has been no further deterioration in the camp.
Ireland's July schedule takes them to Australia, then to meetings with Japan in Newcastle and New Zealand in Auckland. The run offers a demanding test after Ireland missed out on the Six Nations title earlier in the year, with New Zealand also carrying recent head-to-head momentum against Farrell's side.
O'Connell framed the trip as more than a competition window, describing it as similar in feel to a summer tour because of the time the squad spends together. For Ireland, the coming weeks may be as much about building combinations and resilience as chasing Nations Championship points before the November fixtures against Argentina, Fiji and South Africa.
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