Updated 16.25
HEAD COACH JOE Schmidt was enthusiastic about the modified training worked through by star half-backs Conor Murray and Johnny Sexton.
The Lions 9-10 combination both sustained knocks during the frenetic bonus point win over Wales on Saturday.
In an open training session at the Aviva Stadium today, the Munster man was restricted to running drills, while Sexton was kept to off-feet conditioning work.
“They both got through their work really well,” added Schmidt, relaxed in the knowledge that matchday is still a week and a half away.
“It’s one of those weeks where you can be a little bit varied in how you deliver what needs to be done by different players.
“One of the really good things about this week is that it allows guys like Joey Carbery and Kieran Marmion to get in and boss the team because in a match week, by the time you have done three trainings on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday there’s not that many windows where the younger players can get in and take charge of the team.
“So today is a really important investment.”
Iain Henderson and Tadhg Furlong, who missed the win over Wales through injury, were present in the ground but did not take a full part in training. However, Schmidt is hopeful that they can play a full part in training in the lead-up to the clash against Scotland.
“Our plan is that they train fully next week,” said Schmidt.
“We decided to go backwards rather than forwards, take our time a bit with the recovery process. We’d expect them to train fully on the Tuesday, Thursday. Maybe we might manage them a bit on the Monday.”
Immediately after the training run, Schmidt expressed a hope that Chris Farrell had shaken off an injury picked up during today’s session, but the Munster centre has since been ruled out for the remainder of the Championship.