Ireland release seven players ahead of Test against USA

Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt has released seven players back to the provinces ahead of their autumn international clash against USA to be played at Aviva Stadium on Saturday.

Sean Cronin, Jack McGrath, Rob Kearney, James Ryan and Jordan Larmour all will head to their club Leinster while Kieran Marmion will rejoin Connacht. All the six players will miss the final game of their November series campaign against USA.

Meanwhile, Dan Leavy, who missed the game against New Zealand with a neck injury has also been released to Leinster for further rehabilitation.

Peter O'Mahony, who came up with a man of the match performance during the 16-9 win over New Zealand last weekend will remain with the squad despite sustaining a dead leg during the encounter.

The team management has confirmed that his work load will be monitored during training as Ireland look to end the campaign undefeated.

The win over New Zealand meant they have narrowed down the gap with top ranked All Blacks side to 1.37 rating points.