New Ireland rugby head-coach Andy Farrell says players will have the chance to impress him between now and the start of the Six Nations.
Rob Kearney, Kieran Marmion and Jordi Murphy were among the high profile players left out of the squad which met up over the last 24-hours in Dublin.
Farrell says his coaching team will watching the provinces closely over the next few weeks:
"As you can see this squad was based on form and we can’t include everyone in the camp.
"So we had to make a decision somewhere along the line. I’ve made it very clear to all the boys who’ve been in camp here over the last 24 hours that certainly this isn’t selection for the Six Nations.
"I've made it very clear to them what it is going to take for them to get selected. I’ve spoken to Rob but also other players who are not here and told them we will be watching them over this Christmas period.
"There are some big games in Ireland and then all the big games in Europe during January. It's a big time for all the players and hopefully we will be picking a squad in January that is brimming with form."
23 December 2019; Ireland head coach Andy Farrell during a media briefing at the IRFU High Performance Centre in Abbotstown, Dublin. Photo by Ramsey Cardy/SportsfileThe former England dual-international says form will be the main consideration when selecting his first Six Nations squad:
"Form has to be at the forefront of selection. It’s not everything. You obviously look at what players will bring to the squad in terms of what they will add. Is what they have going to make the team play better?
"But we do want people sticking their heads above the parapet and saying, "Please pick me!" That's what we want to see over the next four or five weeks and I’m looking forward to watching that.
"I’m sure players who are not here this weekend will be in the squad but we’ll see. We can’t pick 45 anyway. Maybe there are players that you would expect to get picked, who have already been in this camp, who may not get picked the next time.
"I’ve said to the boys leaving now that we need to be ready when we come into camp the next time. We’ve been watching the form over the last four or five weeks. But it’s not a line that is drawn and everyone is on it.
"I've explained to them that it is not about being just one of four or five players. You have to stand out, you’ve got to make it clear and obvious to everyone that you’re desperate to be in the squad.
"There are people who’ve trained over the last 24 hours and they'll take stock of those words and hopefully that will help them with their performances for the provinces over the next month.
"And some of them may fall off the wayside as well. But we'll assess it as we go."
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