Ireland's sturdy trio is gone - it's time to rebuild again

The last leaves will fall on the Test careers of a trio of greats tomorrow, international autumns turning to winter after one last outing in Rome.

- HARRY LATHAM-COYLE

How the Irish tree has grown since Conor Murray, Peter O'Mahony and Cian Healy first put down roots a decade-and-a-half ago; one last trophy lift for wizened limbs may now appear unlikely, but three arch competitors deserve a winning finish.

A drubbing by France was nobody’s idea of a dream Dublin denouement but let it not be said that the trio have not given every last drop for their national side. It remains faintly remarkable that each has ploughed on deep into their thirties, long after their international obituaries could have been written. Each centurion will go out on their shield to herald the end of an era in which the nation’s relationship with the sport has been transformed. At the time of Healy’s first Ireland call-up, the men’s national side had gone almost 25 years without a championship crown and 60 without a grand slam; 17 years on, title number seven remains mathematically possible.

Each has embodied the spirit of the side in their own, distinct way. Loosehead Healy, who turns 38 this year, has been a great survivor, no man more meticulous in getting, and keeping, his body right. His role may have diminished in recent years, but there is a reason that Andy Farrell, and latterly Simon Easterby, have persisted beyond his apparent sell-by date, a prop demanding neither fuss nor favour even as the records have come.