Sean Cronin dropped by Ireland after lineout woes
Ireland's Sean Cronin during the captain's run at the Aviva Stadium, Dublin.
Leinster hooker Sean Cronin has been omitted from Ireland’s 37-man squad to face France on Sunday after a disappointing display against Italy in their last Six Nations match.
Cronin struggled in the lineout in the narrow 26-16 victory over the Azzurri and has paid the price, with head coach Joe Schmidt calling up Ulster’s Rob Herring for the clash in Dublin.
Elsewhere, Kieran Marmion and Joey Carbery return after recovering from injury, while Rory Best, Cian Healy, Tadhg Beirne, James Ryan, CJ Stander and Garry Ringrose are also included.
Robbie Henshaw misses out, however, with the centre failing to shake off a dead leg he suffered in early February.
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Ireland squad for France game:
Forwards: Rory Best, Tadhg Beirne, Jack Conan, Ultan Dillane, Tadhg Furlong, Cian Healy, Iain Henderson, Rob Herring, Dave Kilcoyne, Jack McGrath, Jordi Murphy, Sean O’Brien, Peter O’Mahony, Andrew Porter, Quinn Roux, Rhys Ruddock, James Ryan, John Ryan, Niall Scannell, CJ Stander, Josh van der Flier
Backs: Bundee Aki, Ross Byrne, Joey Carbery, Jack Carty, Andrew Conway, John Cooney, Keith Earls, Chris Farrell, Tom Farrell, Rob Kearney, Jordan Larmour, Kieran Marmion, Conor Murray, Garry Ringrose, Jonathan Sexton, Jacob Stockdale