Shane Horgan missed the game, and the plane, due to a stomach complaint that he is having ongoing tests on while hooker Jerry Flannery was also left at home after aggravating a calf injury from earlier in the year.

There was a semblance of good news for Kidney with fly-half Jonny Sexton making the journey however if his gum infection does not improve quickly he may too be forced out.

A Sexton withdrawal would take the casualty list up to 14 for Kidney which, with the tour being earmarked as an integral part of Ireland's preparations for the 2011World Cup in New Zealand, would represent a huge blow.