Tuesday 20 November 2018 10:13, UK
Ireland have released seven players back to their respective provinces ahead of this weekend’s final November international against USA in Dublin.
Six players from the 23-man squad that defeated New Zealand 16-9 last Saturday will play no part against the Eagles.
Sean Cronin, Jack McGrath, Rob Kearney, James Ryan and Jordan Larmour will all return to Leinster, while Kieran Marmion will return to Connacht.
Dan Leavy was originally named to start at openside flanker against the All Blacks but was withdrawn from the squad on Friday due to a neck injury.
He will also return to Leinster to continue his rehabilitation.
Munster captain Peter O'Mahony, who was named man of the match against the All Blacks, will remain with the Irish squad despite being forced to come off late in the win after sustaining a dead leg.
Meanwhile, Ireland remain second in the world rankings but have closed the gap on the All Blacks in the race to become number one.
Joe Schmidt's side gained 1.05 points with the win, giving them their highest ever total of 91.17, and have now won 17 of their past 18 Test matches.
Ireland passed the 90-point mark for the first time last June, when they secured a series victory in Australia.
Back-to-back world champions New Zealand dropped from 93.58 to 92.54 points, meaning they now sit 1.37 rating points above Ireland.
