KEITH EARLS HAS been named at outside centre for Ireland’s Six Nations opener against Wales, replacing the injured Brian O’Driscoll in the number 13 jersey.
There were few surprises in Declan Kidney’s starting XV which sees just two personnel changes from the side which lost in the World Cup quarter-finals last October.
Jonny Sexton comes in to replace Ronan O’Gara at out-half, while Earls’ switch to the centre sees Tommy Bowe and Andrew Trimble named on the wings.
In the second row, Donncha O’Callaghan is preferred to provincial team-mate Donnacha Ryan, who has kept him out of the Munster set-up in recent weeks.
Advertisement
Another Munster man, the uncapped back-row Peter O’Mahony, is named among the replacements for the first time.
Centre stage: Earls handed BOD's 13 jersey for Wales match
KEITH EARLS HAS been named at outside centre for Ireland’s Six Nations opener against Wales, replacing the injured Brian O’Driscoll in the number 13 jersey.
There were few surprises in Declan Kidney’s starting XV which sees just two personnel changes from the side which lost in the World Cup quarter-finals last October.
Jonny Sexton comes in to replace Ronan O’Gara at out-half, while Earls’ switch to the centre sees Tommy Bowe and Andrew Trimble named on the wings.
In the second row, Donncha O’Callaghan is preferred to provincial team-mate Donnacha Ryan, who has kept him out of the Munster set-up in recent weeks.
Another Munster man, the uncapped back-row Peter O’Mahony, is named among the replacements for the first time.
Ireland (vs Wales): R Kearney; Bowe, Earls, D’Arcy, Trimble; Sexton, Murray; Healy, Best, Ross; O’Callaghan, O’Connell; Ferris, O’Brien, Heaslip. Replacements: Cronin, Court, Ryan, O’Mahony, Reddan, O’Gara, McFadden.
Lucky number 13: Kidney prepares to name his Ireland team
Six Nations golden moments: Italy’s six-minute blitz in Murrayfield, 2007
New kids: Five players to watch out for in the Six Nations
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Aviva Stadium Six Nations Declan Kidney Dublin Fergus McFadden Ireland IRFU Keith Earls Lansdowne Road Paul O'Connell Ronan O'Gara Sam Warburton Sean O'Brien Six Nations 2012 Wales Tommy Bowe Warren Gatland WRU