Ireland coach Joe Schmidt has confirmed that Johnny Sexton, Luke Fitzgerald , Dave Kearney and Rob Kearney are all out of the tour of South Africa this month.
4 Changes to squad for @Springboks tour #ShoulderToShoulder https://t.co/ow0ZXPtguB pic.twitter.com/7zV8TcV4wJ
— Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) June 2, 2016
Luke Fitzgerald had been ruled out earlier this week due to a knee injury and today Schmidt confirmed that Sexton has undergone surgery this week.
“Jonny saw a specialist on Sunday evening at 7pm and course of action was surgery,” he said at a press conference today.
“There was a feeling that it could be managed and managed conservatively and continue playing or return, but it was felt by the specialist that surgery was the most appropriate action.”
Ian Madigan, overlooked when the team was first announced, has been called up in his stead.
The manager acknowledged Sexton would be a loss but is keen to focus on the players in the squad rather than the missing Leinster star.
“The experience he has, the fact that he’s a key leader with Rory and Jamie, that’s a loss.
“When you lose experience you can gain excitement, hopefully that x factor that can be compensated with the excitement younger players bring,” Schmidt said.
“I had a good conversation with Johnny, but we have to move on and focus on Paddy Jackson, Ian Madigan and Stuart Olding.”
Sexton should be fit in time for the start of next season, with his recovery from surgery expected to take three months.
New additions to #IrishRugby squad @Tiernanoh11 & @heals102 make it 7 Connacht players traveling on @Springboks tour pic.twitter.com/gkszCGA32v
— Connacht Rugby (@connachtrugby) June 2, 2016
Matt Healy comes in in place of Fitzgerald and will be joined by Connacht teammate Tiernan O’Halloran. He comes in to replace Rob Kearney, who will miss the trip to South Africa due to a hamstring issue.
His brother Dave will also sit out the tour, because of a calf problem, and is replaced by Ulster’s Craig Gilroy.
Schmidt insisted that the changed squad would not change his hopes for the tri-series.
“It doesn’t change expectations,” he said. “My expectation is the players will work hard, unite under Rory’s leadership and we’ll see if that’s good enough.
“It’s a fantastic opportunity for some of those young players who get an opportunity to put their best foot forward.
“For us, if we can stay competitive, we’re always a chance, if we can stay in the game for as long as possible that can potentially unsettle them, the pressure is a little bit on them, they’re at home, they’ve never lost to Ireland and they’ll want to perform.”
