Baird was forced off with a head injury shortly after coming on as a replacement during Ireland’s win over Argentina last Friday, and as such, he will sit out this weekend.
In better news, however, Furlong (hamstring) and O’Toole (head) trained in Dublin today and could return to face Fiji on Saturday, depending on how the remainder of the week goes in terms of their recoveries.
“Ryan is out,” scrum coach John Fogarty confirmed.
“And the two boys [Furlong and O’Toole] are back in, they trained today. Hopefully, they will get through the week.”
Fogarty was happy to report that Furlong is raring to go after the Wexford prop missed both of Ireland’s Autumn Nations Series games thus far.
“[He’s] Good, good. Full of energy. So, yeah, he got through the session today and he will be assessed as we go along,” Fogarty said.
“I’d say bullish, he’s eager to get back and excited to be in and around the team again. It’s lonely when you’re outside of that. He’s excited to be in and around the team, and we are excited as well.
“They won’t mess about with the players. He’s back on time. He’s ready to go. If he had been back last week and ready to go, he would have been up for selection and then the coaches will decide.
“He is back in training and got through that session today.”
Ireland’s tighthead stocks were enhanced by Thomas Clarkson making his international debut in the victory over Argentina and Fogarty was pleased with how the 24-year-old Leinster prop performed off the bench.
“I was delighted. We went on an EI (Emerging Ireland) tour a couple of years ago, he is a great character. He does a few things really well at scrum time.
“He came in as a guy we were looking at for the future and circumstances allowed him to go onto the field last.
“It was amazing, Cian [Healy] getting 133 [caps] and Tom getting one. It was an incredibly exciting week to be a scrum coach and watch such things happen.
“Tom did a good job. He will certainly take his learnings. It’s always exciting when you get another Irish tighthead onto the field.
“Hopefully, he will take everything he has learned and push on. I’ve said it before, that’s what we need. We want every front-rower to step up. And Tom has stepped up in this camp and I’m delighted he got capped.”
Andy Farrell is expected to make several changes to his team to face Fiji, which will be named on Thursday at 2.0, but Fogarty warned against the threat of the Pacific Islanders.
“I think it’s important that we are doing right by everyone in our side, continuing to look for a performance,” he added.
“Fiji have improved. We played them two years ago and they’ve certainly improved. You see that through the Wales game. They didn’t quite have the full side out in that Scotland match, but they’re a dangerous side.
“So, it’s important that we are focusing on developing a good performance. Andy [Farrell] and ourselves [assistants] will select accordingly.”
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