JOE: JAMIE AND JARED AREN’T OUT

JOE SCHMIDT is refusing to rule Jamie Heaslip and Jared Payne out of his Six Nations plans.

Heaslip hasn’t played since suffering a serious back injury last March, and recently had a second operation to try to solve the problem.

Payne has been out since suffering headaches while on the Lions tour.

Ireland’s championship opener takes place in Paris on February 3, and when asked about having the experienced duo available, boss Schmidt said: “I certainly wouldn’t discount it at the moment.

“I spoke to Jamie and he’s rehabbing along. I spoke to Jared just prior to the start of the Guinness Series and he felt he was making good progress.

“The plan was that he might play this weekend.

“They’ve obviously put that back a bit.”

Ulster director of rugby Les Kiss stated in midweek that Payne, 32, could return in a fortnight – but it could also take more than a month.

“He’s incredibly influential when he plays for us,” Schmidt added.

“I think you saw that when he was on one leg against England, but he still made a difference.

“He would be another guy who would still be on the radar, for sure.”

Schmidt was straight back to work yesterday – he travelled to Belfast to touch base with Kiss and the Ulster coaches.

The Ireland boss said: “It’s going to be really important to get the right people together for the Six Nations and that’s when we’ll get really well tested again.

“When you look at it, we have some incredibly hard working and talented players.”

Several newcomers impressed Schmidt over the past three weeks and on Saturday, it was the performance of Chris Farrell at No13 that brought “the real satisfaction”.

After then name-checking debutant winger Adam Byrne and Bundee Aki, Schmidt pointed out that Robbie Henshaw, Keith Earls and Garry Ringrose will return in the coming weeks.

Asked if the door to selection for others was now closed, Schmidt (below) added: “There’s always licence if someone is performing really well.

“There are a couple of guys out there who were probably a little bit unlucky in that they got injured close to the start of this series.

“Barry Daly was going really well for Leinster, Niyi Adeolokun – they were other guys we’re still interested in.

“There’s some good, experienced guys on the wing in Ulster who we would happily revert to.

“Craig Gilroy is only just back from injury.

“Gilly’s age profile is still pretty good.

“I wouldn’t discard anyone at this stage.

“While people say, ‘It’s two years away from the World Cup’, my riposte would be that it’s two months away from the Six Nations, and I love the

competition.”