Antoine Frisch will not be capped by France this weekend and so remains Ireland-qualified, until the summer at least.
The Munster centre was called up by Les Bleus coach Fabien Galthie ahead of Saturday's Guinness Six Nations finale against England in Lyon.
However, the 27-year-old's name then appeared on a list of players released back to their clubs by the French Rugby Federation.
France-born Frisch, who qualifies for Ireland via a grandparent, played for Emerging Ireland in 2022 but has not featured for the senior side.
Had he played for France this weekend he would have become non-Ireland qualified, with that scenario having knock-on effects for Munster.
The next international window is in July with Ireland visiting South Africa for two Tests, while France take on Argentina.
Speaking yesterday, Ireland defence coach Simon Easterby said: "I don't know whether they [France] will cap him or they’ve just got him in for training. I worked with Frischy with Emerging Ireland, and he’s a great guy, good player.
"He’s unfortunately in a position of real strength for us and he might get into a few other teams given the opportunity.
"I’m obviously not fully aware of the situation around what’s happening this week around his selection, but he’s a good guy, good player and if he does get capped, then obviously that will change a few things, but it’s not one for me to worry about too much right now."
Emilien Gailleton, Antoine Hastoy, Dany Priso, Posolo Tuilagi and Cameron Woki were also released back to their respective clubs.
Listen to the RTÉ Rugby podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
We need your consent to load this YouTube contentWe use YouTube to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
Watch Wales v Italy in the Guinness Six Nations (2.15pm) and France v England (8pm) on Saturday on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, follow a live blog on France v England on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app
Follow a live blog on Ireland v Scotland in the Guinness Six Nations on Saturday from 4pm and listen to live commentary on Saturday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1
