THOMAS CLARKSON AND Sam Prendergast became the 36th and 37th players to be handed their Ireland debuts by Andy Farrell when they entered the fray in Dublin last Friday.
The head coach is hoping that those first caps against Argentina are the launchpad for something long-lasting.
Oli Jager and Jamie Osborne are the other two Irish players to have made their Ireland debuts in 2024, while it remains to be seen if there are any new caps this Saturday against Fiji.
Farrell has essentially fielded his full-strength, first-choice starting XV for both autumn games against New Zealand and Argentina so far and while he will respect the Fijians with his selection this weekend, there is surely scope for some squad-building.
The Ireland boss argues that winning now is the most important thing for Ireland, but he also insists that he is always thinking a little further down the line too.
While Farrell sometimes gets criticised for what is perceived as too much loyalty to some of his experienced players, the Ireland squad has undergone a fair bit of change during his time in charge.
Key players like Caelan Doris, Rónan Kelleher, Hugo Keenan, Jamison Gibson-Park, James Lowe, Dan Sheehan, Mack Hansen, Crowley, and Joe McCarthy have been given their first caps by Farrell.
As his comments in recent weeks have highlighted, Farrell doesn’t believe he has a very deep pool of Irish players ready to step up to international rugby.
So he was thrilled that Clarkson and Prendergast could make a positive impact against the Pumas on Friday night.
“It’s huge,” said Farrell. “You’ve seen the characters throughout training and you know they’re ready for that type of occasion, a pressured occasion.
“I said to them in there in the changing room then that they came in well-prepared because of the form they’ve shown this season.
“And it’s not about one cap, is it? It’s what you do with that one cap and how hungry you are to kick on now to gain on that experience.”
There’s little doubt both young Leinster players were instantly hoping for another chance against Fiji this Saturday afternoon.
Farrell might rotate at out-half after Crowley started both games so far. Prendergast did look sharp off the bench, although Ciarán Frawley would dearly love a chance to start a Test at number 10 for the first time.
With Tadhg Furlong and Tom O’Toole potentially back from injury at tighthead this week, Farrell might be keen to get them up to speed, but Clarkson certainly showed that he deserves more chances with Ireland.
The uncapped Ulster lock/flanker Cormac Izuchukwu would have targeted this Fiji game for his debut so he’ll hope to follow Clarkson and Prendergast into the international arena.
While Farrell indicated that he’ll pick a cohort of experienced players to provide continuity on Saturday, it would seem like a prime chance for less-experienced squad members such as Craig Casey and Cian Prendergast to step up.
Indeed, Farrell underlined on Friday that this autumn window is key for Ireland’s development when he was asked if his looming departure for the Lions job made it a strange campaign for him.
“Honestly, I try to make sure that there’s no distractions and there hasn’t been,” said Farrell.
“It’s full steam ahead for me.
“This is a great window for us to improve as a group going forward.”
Among those learning along the way has been Doris, who was Ireland’s starting captain for just the fourth time in the Argentina clash.
Having taken over from Peter O’Mahony as the full-time leader for this campaign, the aftermath of losing to the All Blacks two weekends ago must have been tough for the 26-year-old, who was the first new player Farrell capped in his maiden game in charge of Ireland in 2020.
“It’s big for Caelan,” said Farrell. “It’s big being captain of the side.
“Even subconsciously, not that it’s said, I probably put more pressure on him because of last week and the team’s performance [against New Zealand].
“I’m sure he takes a bit of extra responsibility for that. He’s very good at taking on a challenge and relishing that challenge. He’s as good as anyone at dealing with stuff that’s not going well and making sure of it.
“It’s all good learning steps for us.”
Really unfortunate because he is such a key part of Shells title triumph hope he can do well at Hull.
Big blow for Shels but encouraging for the league that he was disappointed to leave the club and looked and sounded like he genuinely wanted to stay and be a part of what was happening there, but as Boris would say ‘dems da breaks’ a recall can always happen with a loan signing obviously. An opportunity for someone else to step up and make an impact