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Ireland rejig their squad in wake of Italian match postponement

(Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

With Ireland’s March 7 Guinness Six Nations match at home to Italy set to now be postponed, Andy Farrell has released Ultan Dillane and David Heffernan from his squad so that they can travel to South Africa with Connacht.

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The Irish province have a Guinness PRO14 match in Port Elizabeth next Sunday versus the Southern Kings and while Six Nations have yet to officially postpone the following weekend’s Ireland-Italy Test match, Farrell has opted to realise the pair on Wednesday after they were initially included in a 28-strong squad for training in Dublin later this week. 

Dillane had featured off the bench in last Sunday’s comprehensive loss to England in London, his first cap since a championship appearance last March versus France.

Farrell’s squad update arrived a few hours after the IRFU claimed it had a positive meeting on Wednesday with Irish government health minister Simon Harris.

The IRFU were formally advised by the National Public Health Emergency team that the series of matches with Italy – men’s, women’s and under-20s scheduled for Dublin and Cork on the weekend of March 6-8 – should not proceed in the interests of public health due to the threatened spread of the coronavirus.

A statement read: “We will immediately begin to work with our Six Nations partners to look at the possibility of rescheduling the matches and would hope to have an update on this in the coming days.”

WATCH: The Rugby Pod rounds up all last weekend’s Guinness Six Nations and Gallagher Premiership action

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BH 29 minutes ago
TJ Perenara clarifies reference to the Treaty in All Blacks' Haka

Nope you're both wrong. Absolutely 100% wrong. You two obviously know nothing about NZ history, or the Treaty which already gives non-Māori "equal" rights. You are ignorant to what the Crown have already done to Māori. I've read it multiple times, attended the magnificent hikoi and witnessed a beautiful moment of Māori and non-Māori coming together in a show of unity against xenophobia and a tiny minority party trying to change a constitutional binding agreement between the Crown and Māori. The Crown have hundreds of years of experience of whitewashing our culture, trying to remove the language and and take away land and water rights that were ours but got stolen from. Māori already do not have equal rights in all of the stats - health, education, crime, etc. The Treaty is a binding constitutional document that upholds Māori rights and little Seymour doesn't like that. Apparently he's not even a Māori anyway as his tribes can't find his family tree connection LOL!!!


Seymour thinks he can change it because he's a tiny little worm with small man syndrome who represents the ugly side of NZ. The ugly side that wants all Māori to behave, don't be "radical" or "woke", and just put on a little dance for a show. But oh no they can't stand up for themselves against oppression with a bill that is a waste of time and money that wants to cause further division in their own indigenous country.


Wake up to yourselves. You can't pick and choose what parts of Māori culture you want and don't want when it suits you. If sport and politics don't mix then why did John Key do the 3 way handshake at the RWC 2011 final ceremony? Why is baldhead Luxon at ABs games promoting himself? The 1980s apartheid tour was a key example of sports and politics mixing together. This is the same kaupapa. You two sound like you support apartheid.

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