Mayo man Caelan Doris ruled out of Ireland-Wales Six Nations match

Ireland have suffered an injury blow in their Grand Slam bid as their captain and Mayo native Caelan Doris has been ruled out for Ireland’s Six Nations trip to Cardiff to take on Wales.

Doris, who hails from Lacken, had been in fine form as Ireland blew away Scotland last weekend, powering over the line for Ireland’s second try in the 30th minute.

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However, an injury suffered late on will leave him sidelined for Ireland’s Triple Crown decider this Saturday.

The absence of Doris will be a blow to head coach Simon Easterby.  However, he and his coaches will be hopeful that Doris will be back in contention when France come to Dublin for their Aviva Stadium showdown on March 8 in what could be the competition decider.

Speaking on who will assume captaincy roles in the absence of Leinster’s Doris, coach Andrew Goodman said there will be no shortage of experienced men who will step into the boots of the experienced Number Eight.

"The leadership group's been growing well over the past couple of years and there's a number of players who have captained their provinces, so we have some good options there."

The man who began his rugby journey with Ballina RFC has been an ever-present fixture for both Simon Easterby and Andy Farrell in a run stretching all the way back to 2022 against the All-Blacks when he was sidelined with a concussion.