Joe McCarthy in line for first Six Nations start as Ireland prepare to get physical

Andy Farrell will select the Ireland side to face France in the Stade Velodrome on Friday night (kick-off 9pm local time/8pm Irish) from a fully-fit squad of 34 players. After informing the players on Tuesday), the Irish head coach will unveil his hand for Ireland’s Six Nations opener at lunchtime on Wednesday.

“Yeah, we’re good, a clean bill of health which is great,” confirmed scrum coach John Fogarty after the squad trained in Quinta do Lago under cloudy skies but a still pleasant 17 degrees.

Fogarty acknowledged the sheer scale of the task which the French will provide in this opening clash between the last two Grand Slam winners. “They’re a big side, a huge side. They’re settled as well. I know they have a couple of guys missing, but they’re settled, just like us. They’ve a lot of power and weight in their side.”

France are without the newly qualified Emmanuel Meafou, but speculation is rife that this fixture might well be an opportune time to grant the rapidly maturing Joe McCarthy just a third Test start, and first in the Six Nations, at the age of 22.

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“We’ll see,” said Fogarty. “Andy is going to select a side tomorrow, so we’ve a squad over here, and have trained well. Joe has gone well within Leinster and is an exciting prospect. You look at James Ryan, Hendy [Iain Henderson], there’s a great group of secondrows, and we’re lucky to have what we have right now. We have real experience, nice size and power and a bit of youth. That’s a great mix, it pushes each other along. That’s what we want.

“We need competition, we need to train at a high, high level. We’ve seen nice intent in training sessions, and it’s not someone waiting, it’s someone competing to get a jersey. It’s been good.

“Cian Healy has come back, Oli Jager is a guy we’ve brought in to have a look at, and there’s really good competition in what’s happening around that pack.

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“Joe is a great character. He brings his energy to everything he does. He’s done that from the second he’s come in here. In a gym session he’s a great guy to watch and be around. Jason Cowman [athletic performance coach] says that the group Joe’s in has high energy and there’s a bit of banter and craic, but there’s a lot of competing going on. Joe has brought a lot of that energy with him.

“Every player goes through a period coming into a side, and you see him with Leinster flying off the line a few times. I think he’s brought a bit of calmness to what he’s doing, on the back of understanding what’s needed over the last year or 18 months. That’s evident over the last couple of games.

“I think he’s brought a little bit of that. You need to make mistakes sometimes. Some players are right on the edge of what they do. You need to make some mistakes and learn your way. We’re in a good spot and Joe’s in a great spot, he’s nice and clear in what he needs to do.”