JOE SCHMIDT HAS named his 23-man squad to face France at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday [KO 4.50pm].
Check out the squad in full here.
Sexton starts
There has been debate over Ireland’s 10 shirt this week, but it was only ever likely that Johnny Sexton’s name would be in the out-half slot on Schmidt’s team sheet after his return to full fitness.
The 31-year-old has won three Heineken Cup titles, two Pro12 trophies, two Six Nations crowns and also guided the Lions to a series success. He has a huge bank of high-quality performances at the top level of the game behind him.
Furthermore, Sexton has been superb pretty much every time he has stepped onto the pitch this season and last season. Saturday will be his first appearance since playing for Leinster on 20 January, but he has shown before that he does not need time to get up to speed.
What Schmidt has in Sexton is one of the finest out-halves in the game. He is the highest earner in Ireland because he is quite probably the very best player in the country.
His impact in defence, attack, the kicking game, and through his communication, decision-making and leadership, is huge for Ireland.
This is not about 25-year-old Paddy Jackson not being good enough – we know for certain that the Ulsterman is – but more so about Ireland picking one of their best players to start in a huge Six Nations game.
Kearney fit at 15
The Leinster fullback suffered a painful injury to his bicep tendon in the win over Italy two weekends ago and only returned to full training this week, but he is fit to continue in Ireland’s 15 shirt.
Kearney’s fitness means that the Ireland back three remains unchanged for the third consecutive game in this championship, with Keith Earls and Simon Zebo holding off the challenge from the fit-again Andrew Trimble, who benches.
With Garry Ringrose and Robbie Henshaw also continuing in midfield, the Ireland backline has a settled look to it, even with a change in the 10 shirt.
With Ireland expected to target les Bleus in the aerial battle this weekend, the back three of Kearney, Zebo and Earls will be important, particularly under Conor Murray’s hanging box kicks.
McGrath edges Healy
Jack McGrath and Rory Best return to Ireland’s front row this weekend, with the latter having missed out on the win in Rome due to illness. Best takes over the captaincy again after Jamie Heaslip had deputised at Stadio Olimpico, while McGrath is back in the number one jersey.
While the Leinster loosehead has played a lot of Test rugby in the last few years, he wouldn’t have enjoyed being informed that Healy was getting a starting shot against the Italians.
Aware of how good Healy has been in the past and that his rival’s form has been steadily improving, McGrath will now be keen to stamp his authority all over the starting loosehead slot.
He faces an interesting battle at scrum time against Rabah Slimani, the squat and technically-strong France tighthead. Indeed, this overall scrum contest looks like being an intriguing one.
With France keeping Eddy Ben Arous and Uini Atonio on the bench for second-half impact, Healy will still have a key role to play for Ireland. His fellow front row replacements, Niall Scannell and John Ryan, face the biggest tests of their fledgling international careers in locking out the Irish scrum late on.
Strongest foot forward
This Ireland team is quite probably the strongest one Schmidt could hope to have available, barring the injured Jared Payne and Sean Cronin.
That is not to ignore the form of Scannell and Ringrose, who wear the 16 and 13 shirts respectively, but had Schmidt had the chance to pick his ideal Ireland 23, it’s likely Payne and Cronin would be in there.
The point is that Ireland have named a very, very strong 23 to take on the French this weekend, with their tactical leader back in Sexton, a hugely dynamic back row primed to deliver their best outing yet, and a bench that includes the impact of Iain Henderson, Healy, Peter O’Mahony and Jackson.
The locking partnership of Donnacha Ryan and Devin Toner is experienced and complementary, while this Ireland starting front row know each other well. The aforementioned back three have been there and done it at Test level too.
Ringrose and Robbie Henshaw’s midfield partnership is still establishing itself, but the former has shown glimpses of his class in the opening two rounds and Henshaw is well established as an imposing, impactful inside centre.
Conor Murray is due a big game at scrum-half after he improved in Rome, following a disappointing showing against Scotland. All in all, this is a matchday 23 that Schmidt will be very confident about ahead of Saturday’s meeting with les Bleus.
- This article was updated at 5.32pm to correct ‘tighthead’ to ‘loosehead’ in the third paragraph of the ‘McGrath edges Healy’ section.
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