Ireland include Payne, Carbery

Cape Town - Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt has announced a 36-man squad for the final two rounds of the Six Nations, with Jared Payne returning to the group.

Schmidt's charges travel to Cardiff in Round 4 to take on Wales at the Principality Stadium on Friday, March 9 before they host England on Saturday, March 18 at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.

Payne makes a welcome return to the squad for the first time since he picked up an injury against Australia last November.

The 36-man squad also sees the return of Joey Carbery who also featured for Ireland in that game.

Ireland squad for Rounds 4 and 5

Forwards: Rory Best (captain), Jack Conan, Tadhg Furlong, Cian Healy, Jamie Heaslip, Iain Henderson, Dave Kilcoyne, Dan Leavy, Jack McGrath, Sean O'Brien, Tommy O'Donnell, Peter O'Mahony, Quinn Roux, Donnacha Ryan, John Ryan, Niall Scannell, CJ Stander, Devin Toner, James Tracy

Backs: Joey Carbery, Andrew Conway, Keith Earls, Craig Gilroy, Robbie Henshaw, Paddy Jackson, Rob Kearney, Kieran Marmion, Luke Marshall, Luke McGrath, Conor Murray, Tiernan O'Halloran, Jared Payne, Garry Ringrose, Jonathan Sexton, Andrew Trimble, Simon Zebo