IRELAND CAPTAIN CAELAN Doris came through training in Chicago again today and is ready for his return from injury against the All Blacks on Saturday.
All 36 players in the Ireland squad trained at the SeatGeek Stadium this afternoon, meaning Andy Farrell has had a strong hand to choose from ahead of the clash with New Zealand.
The return of skipper Doris will be a big boost for Farrell’s side and Ireland are confident he can get up to speed quickly in what will be his first appearance since injuring his shoulder in May.
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“He’s been through a very good return to play period now and he’s had a good few weeks,” said Ireland assistant coach Paul O’Connell.
“There’s been very little minding of him or anything like that, or there hasn’t been any.
“There’s one train of thought that says you start a guy like that because he could come on after a minute anyway, and there’s another train of thought that says you bring him off the bench.
“He’s fine, he’s trained really well, he feels really good, he’s shown no ill-effects whatsoever.”
Doris is one of a big group of Irish players who are very short on recent game time.
Many of the team expected to face New Zealand made their first and only appearance of the season in Leinster’s defeat to Munster two weekends ago.
O’Connell admitted that the delay to the start of this season caused by Lions involvement late into the summer has posed a challenge, but he believes that Ireland can hit the ground running against an All Blacks team playing their 10th Test of the year.
“It’s definitely a challenge and that’s why we’re over a little bit early,” said O’Connell, with Ireland having arrived in Chicago a week ago.
“It allowed us to get over the jet lag or get over most of the jet lag and have two very good, fast training sessions with a good bit of contact in them and get lads up to speed.
“It’s certainly a challenge but I suppose the sessions we’ve put in are designed to help the guys on that journey.”
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'He's shown no ill-effects' - Ireland confident Doris is up to speed
IRELAND CAPTAIN CAELAN Doris came through training in Chicago again today and is ready for his return from injury against the All Blacks on Saturday.
All 36 players in the Ireland squad trained at the SeatGeek Stadium this afternoon, meaning Andy Farrell has had a strong hand to choose from ahead of the clash with New Zealand.
The return of skipper Doris will be a big boost for Farrell’s side and Ireland are confident he can get up to speed quickly in what will be his first appearance since injuring his shoulder in May.
“He’s been through a very good return to play period now and he’s had a good few weeks,” said Ireland assistant coach Paul O’Connell.
“There’s been very little minding of him or anything like that, or there hasn’t been any.
“There’s one train of thought that says you start a guy like that because he could come on after a minute anyway, and there’s another train of thought that says you bring him off the bench.
“He’s fine, he’s trained really well, he feels really good, he’s shown no ill-effects whatsoever.”
Doris is one of a big group of Irish players who are very short on recent game time.
Many of the team expected to face New Zealand made their first and only appearance of the season in Leinster’s defeat to Munster two weekends ago.
O’Connell admitted that the delay to the start of this season caused by Lions involvement late into the summer has posed a challenge, but he believes that Ireland can hit the ground running against an All Blacks team playing their 10th Test of the year.
“It’s definitely a challenge and that’s why we’re over a little bit early,” said O’Connell, with Ireland having arrived in Chicago a week ago.
“It allowed us to get over the jet lag or get over most of the jet lag and have two very good, fast training sessions with a good bit of contact in them and get lads up to speed.
“It’s certainly a challenge but I suppose the sessions we’ve put in are designed to help the guys on that journey.”
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All Blacks Caelan Doris Chicago Ireland Skipper