Thursday 23 February 2017 14:22, UK
Ireland kicking coach Richie Murphy insists fly-half Johnny Sexton is not guaranteed a starting place, even if he is fit.
Sexton has yet to feature in this year's Six Nations due to a calf injury, and has struggled with hamstring injuries in recent seasons.
Ulster's Paddy Jackson has filled in for Ireland in Sexton's absence, including November's clash with Australia and the summer tour to South Africa.
Sexton's most recent calf injury was suffered in Leinster's 24-24 Champions Cup draw in Castres on January 20, but Ireland confirmed on Monday they were confident he would be fit for selection against France on Saturday.
"Johnny Sexton and Rob Kearney trained fully today, so both should be ready to go this week," said Murphy.
"Johnny gets picked like everyone else, he has no divine right to get picked. Will he get picked? That is a decision that has to be made.
"I am not trying to create any confusion. All I am saying is that there will be a decision made on the back of how he has performed over the last two days.
"Paddy Jackson has been brilliant. We have been very lucky that while Johnny has been out Paddy has been stepping in and filling that gap really well, since probably last summer.
"He has really stepped up to the mark and he's improving all the time. He is still only 25 and Johnny was only getting capped for the first time at the age that Paddy is at now, so he has worked really hard with Johnny off the pitch in order to help him drive things.
"It is starting to come to a stage where there are other options there."
As well as Sexton, Ireland expect Leinster full-back Kearney and Munster scrum-half Conor Murray to overcome bicep and hip adductor injuries, respectively, and be fit for France.
Elsewhere, flanker Peter O'Mahony and winger Andrew Trimble have returned to full training, but Leinster openside Josh Van der Flier has been ruled out for the rest of the tournament having suffered a shoulder injury against Edinburgh on Friday.
Sexton, 31, has 63 Ireland caps while 25-year-old Jackson has 21 caps, but Murphy has lauded the latter's consistency and impact since coming into the team.
"Paddy's shown a massive improvement over the last couple of seasons," Murphy added, discussing Jackson's goal-kicking consistency.
"He's 25 from 26 since November for Ireland. That's a pretty good return. He is in a good place. That part of his game has really improved and from getting that regular kicking up in Ulster.
"Johnny is a big member of the squad, a big presence in the room. His leadership is important to the team and the group itself so having him back in training is really good.
"He has done this before: he has been out for long periods and come back in and been really good. So it's not something that is new to him.
"We feel that he will be ready to go. It's just a selection issue now. There is no doubt over his availability to play.
"He picked up a couple of injuries and he may be frustrated but I don't know that. I haven't seen that. He is in good form and, given the opportunity this week, he will be ready to go.
"Johnny has just been around a bit longer [than Jackson] and has seen it all.
"How he interacts with the group can be slightly different because he is a more senior member than Paddy but that gap is closing and the players that play with Paddy are very confident in his ability. They listen to him and he runs the team really well for us."
