The last leaves will fall on the Test careers of a trio of greats on Saturday, international autumns turning to winter after one last outing in Rome. How the Irish tree has grown since Conor Murray, Peter O’Mahony and Cian Healy first put down roots a decade-and-a-half ago; one last trophy lift for wizened limbs may now appear unlikely but three arch competitors deserve a winning finish.
A drubbing by France was nobody’s idea of a dream Dublin denouement but let it not be said that the trio have not given every last drop for their national side. It remains faintly remarkable that each has ploughed on deep into their 30s, long after their international obituaries could have been written. Each centurion will go out on their shield to herald the end of an era in which the nation’s relationship with the sport has been transformed. At the time of Healy’s first Ireland call-up, the men’s national side had gone almost 25 years without a championship crown and 60 without a grand slam; 17 years on, title number seven remains mathematically possible.
