FINALLY, WE HAVE an Ireland team to discuss as it starts to feel like the World Cup is really just around the corner.
Virtually every selection in Andy Farrell’s matchday 23 to face Italy on Saturday is a talking point in itself given that it’s one of just three warm-up games before the Ireland head coach announces his final 33-man World Cup squad on 28 August.
It’s sensible for the versatile Jimmy O’Brien to get his second start at fullback and prove that he can step up there if anything happens to the ridiculously durable and consistently excellent incumbent Hugo Keenan.
Robbie Henshaw is one of the most experienced players involved with his 63 caps and it’s smart to give him another outing at number 13 in case misfortune gets its claws into Garry Ringrose. Henshaw is predominantly seen as an inside centre but this will be his ninth start at outside centre under Farrell, the same number of starts he’s made at 12.
For Craig Casey to get the chance to build on a positive Six Nations is great news for him. Jamison Gibson-Park and Conor Murray are number one and two at scrum-half with just cause, but Casey continues to push and will be better for another starting chance.
Caelan Doris has played at numbers eight and six for Ireland, so now Farrell is making sure he’s comfortable with a new role at number seven. Whether it’s the best use of his ability is debatable, but Farrell stressed today how adaptable Doris is and that’s a good point. Doris could probably play in the centre too if required.
Josh van der Flier is the main man at openside and Peter O’Mahony has played there for Ireland too, but Saturday will allow Doris to familiarise himself with that spot.
Meanwhile, Ryan Baird will make his first start in the back row for Ireland. His previous chances in the starting XV have come in the second row and he has impressed there. He played lots at blindside for Leinster last season and now gets a chance to experience that slot in Test rugby. The suspicion remains that it might free him up to do the unique things he can do with his agility and pace. It’s also advantageous to have him covering lock and blindside off the bench further down the line.
In the front row, tighthead Tom O’Toole will try to build on his good Six Nations campaign. He’s only started once for Ireland before, against the US in 2021, and this will be different to being the impact man he was earlier this year. It’s surely comforting to have the experience of Ulster team-mate Rob Herring alongside him in the front row, where 51-times capped Dave Kilcoyne is also handed the opportunity to show what his dynamism can bring.
Speaking of experience, there’s no one in the starting XV with more of it than right wing Keith Earls, who is set for his first Ireland appearance since last summer in New Zealand. The 35-year-old will win his 99th cap and will relish the chance to show that age is just a number. He remains physically sharp by all accounts and though last season was a tough one in which he played very little rugby, he has plenty of credit in the bank with Farrell.
Over on the left wing, Jacob Stockdale has a little less of that currency. We all know about his prolific spell back in 2018 but it has been a rough ride over the years since due to injuries and struggles for form. A refreshed Stockdale is now out to show that his power and kicking game are attributes Farrell needs at the World Cup.
Given that there are only the three warm-up games, the chance this weekend is precious for Stockdale, who hasn’t played for Ireland since 2021. He is among those players who were on the fringes in the Six Nations this year and are therefore battling hard to be part of the final 33-man group for the World Cup.
Stuart McCloskey had a prominent role in the Six Nations with three starts but given that Henshaw and Bundee Aki both play at inside centre, the question is whether Ireland need a third player in that spot. McCloskey has now proven himself as a Test player, but a commanding performance on Saturday would help challenge any sense that Henshaw and Aki have number 12 covered.
In the second row, this will be vital chance for 22-year-old Joe McCarthy to show that his undoubted promise is turning into a force to be reckoned with. He’s a large specimen, not the kind of heavy-duty lock Irish rugby is overflowing with, but there are proven locks ahead of him. James Ryan, Tadhg Beirne, and Iain Henderson are the frontliners, Kieran Treadwell had a good tour in New Zealand last year, while Baird plays in the second row too. McCarthy has a different profile to them all, which he’ll look to show against Italy.
It should help McCarthy to be alongside such as experienced an operator as Iain Henderson, who captains the team and will almost certainly lead the lineout. The Ulster captain is among those who need this chance to tune up, given that he last played during the Six Nations in March.
His total lack of luck on the injury front sometimes leads to Henderson facing questions about his place in the national set-up, but this is a man who has 72 caps, has been on a Lions tour, has won Grand Slams and Six Nations, and has been to two World Cups. When he’s fit, he’s a superb international second row.
The Irish bench includes three tried-and-trusted figures in Cian Healy, Tadhg Furlong, and Beirne, but also three uncapped players and two others who have just a cap apiece.
Healy deserves mention here because he’s set to go level with Rory Best as the third-most capped Irishman of all time on 124. Ronan O’Gara is only a further four caps ahead, so Healy will soon be pushing for that spot behind Brian O’Driscoll, top of the chart with 133.
As for the fresh faces, hooker Tom Stewart, back row Cian Prendergast, scrum-half Caolin Blade, versatile back Ciarán Frawley, and wing Calvin Nash are all viewed as being in the group of fringe players jostling for the final few places in Farrell’s World Cup group.
They’ll be desperate for a long enough stint to show their worth because the probability is that this is going to be the last chance for some of this Irish matchday 23 to play before Farrell nails down his final squad. Indeed, the Ireland coaches may have already decided that some of these players won’t be travelling in the initial group.
Even if that is the case, it makes sense to give them exposure this weekend. Some of those who miss out on the 33-player squad and go onto the standby list may be needed as injury reinforcements during the World Cup. We’ve seen it happen time and time again at previous tournaments.
18 of Farrell’s wider training squad will have to wait another two weekends for a first hit-out against England, so the onus is on the 23 for this Italian clash to make them feel less comfortable as final selection looms. It’s a joy that the action finally gets underway on Saturday.
