Lord of the Dance
Keith Earls and Rob Herring will miss Ireland's clash with France this week
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Keith Earls and Rob Herring will miss Ireland's clash with France this week

THE IRISH PAIR of Keith Earls and Rob Herring will not be available for selection when Andy Farrell picks his squad for the game against France in Paris this weekend.

The Munster winger(Earls) and the Ulster Hooker(herring) did not make the squad for the 29-7 win over Wales on Saturday.

Dublin , Ireland - 5 February 2022; Garry Ringrose of Ireland, centre, celebrates with teammates Jonathan Sexton, left, and Andrew Conway after scoring his side's fourth try during the Guinness Six Nations Rugby Championship match between Ireland and Wales at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. (Photo By David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile via Getty Images)

Connacht’s Dave Heffernan has been called up in Herring’s absence.

The IRFU released a statement on their website regarding the news;

"Keith Earls will continue his hamstring rehab in Munster over the coming weeks and his progress will be assessed as the Championship progresses,"

"Rob Herring is unavailable for selection for this weekend’s Round 2 trip to Paris to face France with a calf issue and Dave Heffernan has joined the squad."

Andy Farrell was also able to report a clean bill of health following on from the victory over the defending champions.

"There were no injury concerns emerging from Saturday’s Guinness Six Nations Round 1 win over Wales at Aviva Stadium," the statement said.

Stand in France manager Raphael Ibanez said Ireland's display against Wales in Dublin was expected

Following Frances 37-10 win over Italy, he said

"Now we must regather our forces to be ready to go in six days' time against Ireland,"

"The Irish performance against Wales is no real surprise: they are ranked fourth in the world and justified that place, with an accomplished performance.

"It is a really exciting challenge which awaits us and the next six days must see us perfect ourselves in training so we are primed when the whistle goes.

"It will be a super exciting week for all of us, it is self-evident we have to move up a level."

In other postive news for Andy Farrell, Ulster's Nick Timoney, Robert Baloucoune, and Michael Lowry return to the squad after been given permisson to play in Ulster's game against Connacht on Friday