Ireland release six back to provinces ahead of USA clash

Ireland sextet Sean Cronin, Jack McGrath, Rob Kearney, James Ryan, Jordan Larmour and Kieran Marmion have all rejoined their provinces ahead of the USA Test.

Scrum-half Marmion will this week undergo surgery on an injured ankle that is set to rule him out of action until February.

Flanker Dan Leavy, who missed out on the New Zealand game through injury, has a neck strain and his rehabilitation will be managed at Leinster.

Man-of-the-match Peter O’Mahony suffered a dead leg during the 16-9 victory. His training load will be managed accordingly this week, as the Ireland squad prepare for their final match against the USA on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Devin Toner, who made his 50th start for Ireland on Saturday night, praised the leadership provided by captain Rory Best and his vice-captains, as well as the noise generated by the home fans, in the aftermath of the team’s 11th home win in-a-row.

“I think the mentality going into this game was one of the best that we’ve had,” said the giant lock. “I don’t think that we were going to lose that game, to be honest with you. What everyone was saying – what Sexto (Jonathan Sexton), Pete (O’Mahony) and Bestie (Rory Best) were driving – I don’t think anyone was going to give up anything, to be honest.

“An unbelievable experience. To beat New Zealand for the first time on Irish soil, it’s something special. The atmosphere was unbelievable, it was so loud, as loud as I’ve heard it.

“It wasn’t great to call lineouts! It was so loud, but to come out on top in that manner is unbelievable. It doesn’t mean more because of the personnel, it means more because it’s in Dublin, being able to do it in front of your home crowd.”

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As ever, head coach Joe Schmidt deflected the plaudits to the players and also members of the backroom team whose hard work and input is rarely highlighted publicly.

“It’s a bit special at home and it was a bit special tonight because of what happened in 2013, because of how the crowd were,” he said.

“I thought the crowd were unbelievable and if you need a 16th man, there’s not many better places to go than the Aviva Stadium, Dublin. I get a bit of reflected pride because I watch them (the players) work, I work with them and it’s nice to be close to people who know how to get the best out of themselves.

“And even working with the S&C people, the medical people, the coaching staff, the analysis staff, you know, Merv Murphy and Vinny Hammond, they never get a mention but they do a phenomenal job in pinpointing weaknesses and trying to make sure that we maximise strengths when we go out there.

“It’s pretty collective when we put our heads together so, you know, I’d love to say I’m a really important part of it but it is very much a machine and a consensus, very often.”