“Definitely, he’ll be very conscious (of what to do),” Ross said today after the team announcement.

“He’ll keep his hips square and make sure he doesn’t kick out, because that will give an opportunity for a tighthead to get inside him.”

Ross is raring to go again after being rested last week for Ireland’s penultimate warm-up game against Wales.

The evergreen prop seemed almost a permanent fixture in Ireland’s starting XV but coach Joe Schmidt left him out of the matchday squad last week - an experience Ross admits he found disconcerting.

“I actually went along to the Welsh game and I was a bit lost,” he said.

“My young fella was with me (in the stands). He knew better where to go than I did!”

Ross said the plan was always that he would get at least one week’s break, as no player was to participate in all four games. Instead he got a chance of extra weight training and a break from impacts.

“The refresher part comes from the fact that you’re not taking contact,” the 35-year-old explained.

“Contact’s really what knocks it out of you, not the actual physical fitness.

“It’s actually getting nailed in contact or scrummaging or the rest of it.”

Ross also discussed the reasons why Ireland conceded so many turnovers at scrum time against Wales last weekend.