Ireland remain unchanged after Covid case confirmed as false positive

Ireland will field an unchanged line up against New Zealand for their clash in Dublin on Saturday after the Covid case was confirmed as false positive.

The Irish Rugby Football Union confirmed that all the members and staff underwent PCR testing on Friday morning after a player was tested positive for Covid-19.

The player was immediately isolated and the close contacts were identified creating doubt on the weekend's encounter.

Nevertheless, the player returned negative for Covid-19 following two PCR tests conducted at separate testing laboratories deeming the case as false positive as Public health and tournament organisers have given the clearance for the encounter at Aviva Stadium.

Ireland defence coach Simon Easterby said before the false positive news came that the team is prepared to deal with Covid cases and late changes to squad.

"We've retested today and the important thing is we get clarity.

"You can have false positives and we have to make sure we give those guys an opportunity, give the respect to them, and it's important we allow that process to happen.

"They are part of the game - we're not the only team across the last couple of weeks who've had to deal with Covid issues.

"The important thing is we stay focused and don't allow the little things that happen derail us."