Late Injury Scare For Ireland Ahead Of Six Nations Clash

Ireland captain Rory Best will miss today’s captain’s run in Rome with a stomach bug.

The Ulster hooker has not been officially ruled out of tomorrow’s Six Nations clash with Italy and the Ireland camp say they are hopeful the front-row will be fit to start.

Munster’s uncapped hooker Niall Scannell is among the replacements and would be in line for his first cap should Best be ruled out. Leinster’s James Tracy has been called into the squad as a potential replacement, should Best not recover in time.

Vice captain Jamie Heaslip would take the armband in Best’s absence, but Ireland are clearly giving 34-year-old Best every chance of a recovery.

“Rory has had a bit of a stomach upset overnight, he didn’t sleep particularly well,” said Ireland forwards coach Simon Easterby.

“So we’ve left him to rest. You can’t predict that, but we’ve left him back in the hotel when we did the team run.

“Hopefully he’ll be okay with a bit of sleep and rest now. James Tracy will be joining the squad now.

“I think there’s always things that crop up in the course of the week that you have to deal with.

“How we react and respond to it will hopefully allow us to continue the preparation as seamlessly as possible.

“We’re confident that he will recover in time for tomorrow.”

We’ve heard that one before!