In a further blow to head coach Andy Farrell’s options, Jamie Osborne (adductor), Ryan Baird (head) and Jacob Stockdale (hamstring) will also miss the Wallabies clash.
Meanwhile, Farrell has released Dave Heffernan back to Connacht, Nick Timoney has returned to Ulster, while Jack Boyle is in the mix for Leinster, as the URC returns this weekend.
Ireland forwards coach Paul O’Connell says Osborne’s absence will be felt this week: “He’s a big loss, he’s very versatile as well on the bench, he covers so many different positions.
“He’s growing all the time and getting better all the time. It’s a shame he’s out. Hopefully it’s nothing too serious and hopefully he’s back to us soon.”
Ireland are aiming to finish the year on a high, with Farrell set to depart on his Lions sabbatical following Saturday’s meeting with the Wallabies.
Despite getting back to winning ways by beating Fiji and Argentina over the last fortnight, O’Connell still has regrets about the defeat to New Zealand at the start of the month.
“I think the ceiling is very high,” he said.
“We always think that, we always look back on campaigns and we realise how much better we can get. It doesn’t have to be overly complicated either for us to get better.
“I think we started slow in the New Zealand game which was frustrating, we could have set the players up a little bit better for success. We were playing a bit of catch-up then I think.
“At the weekend it was very good. The learning for us was that it doesn’t need to be complicated, we need to do the simple things really well.
“When we do the simple things well we’re a very good side. We’re good in attack, hard to beat in defence, but it isn’t always easy to do the simple things well.
“You’re playing against a team who has a plan to get after you. Being able to manage that while delivering our game is important.”
Tadhg Furlong, right, and Tadhg Beirne during an Ireland Rugby training session at the IRFU High Performance Centre in Dublin. Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile
O’Connell has been pleased to see several young players step up this month, which bodes well for the long road ahead.
“It’s not so much getting ready for the next World Cup cycle, we’re lucky with the Emerging tour, we got to know a few of these players,” he continued.
“Sometimes to get trust in someone you need to get to know them, and see what they’re like when they have to prepare a team for the week.
“Cormac Izuchukwu as well, on that Emerging tour recently. I think he’s an outstandingly talented player, and we would have thought that on the tour two years ago.
“His maturity and leadership and temperament on the tour six weeks ago was what stood out to us. The change in two years was incredible.
“The same with Gus (McCarthy) and Sam (Prendergast). They’re obviously very good rugby players, really well coached, but a lot of them now have a very good temperament as well.
“You’d be very happy putting them into a game where they might make a mistake early on, but you’d be confident they’d be able to handle it and thrive.
“It’s just about broadening the squad, giving guys that deserve a chance a chance, and creating that competition within the group. It’s been a good few weeks in that regard.”
O’Connell is looking forward to Ireland’s reunion with Joe Schmidt, as the Kiwi looks to plot his former side’s downfall with his current Wallabies team.
“He’s an excellent coach,” O’Connell added.
“You cannot not work hard in a Joe Schmidt team. You’ll have a plan and you’ll know inside out how to deliver that plan.
“When you have a team of good, talented players that is half the battle. Be really clear on what your plan is and be really clear on how to deliver that plan. And Joe does that really well.
“You can see with this Australian team flashes of improvement all the time.
“To go to Twickenham and score as many points as they did, to play the game in the way they did, to keep coming back the way they did shows where their belief and resolve has gotten to.
“There will always be days like Scotland for every team. For us it is a big challenge and part of that is knowing what they bring because Joe has coached us before.
“We know how clear he can be and that clarity allows players to play with a lot of intent and a lot of physicality so it is a big challenge.”
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