ANDY FARRELL IS expected to make minimal changes to his matchday 23 for Ireland’s massive Guinness Six Nations clash with France in Paris on Saturday.
Having started the championship with a bonus-point win over Wales last weekend, the Ireland head coach will likely have been hesitant to greatly disrupt a winning formula for the trip to France.
However, Robbie Henshaw and Iain Henderson’s returns to full training have presented Farrell with obvious scope to mix things up.
Ulster captain Henderson has recovered from an ankle injury and only narrowly missed out on involvement in the Wales game, but he has played just 47 minutes of rugby since the November Tests last year.
With the second row pairing of Tadhg Beirne and James Ryan having performed strongly against Wales, Farrell could bring Henderson back in on the Irish bench, from where Leinster’s Ryan Baird provided second-row impact in the second half last weekend.
Henshaw, meanwhile, has recovered from the adductor niggle that he first picked up in pre-Six Nations training and which forced him to miss several Ireland sessions as they built up to the Wales game.
The Leinster centre is fully fit again now but, again, Ireland’s centre pairing of Bundee Aki and Garry Ringrose were impressive in the victory over Wales last time out.
Farrell will also have considered bringing Henshaw back into the matchday squad in the number 23 shirt, which Ulster centre James Hume wore last weekend.
Outside centre Ringrose moved to the right wing when Hume replaced Andrew Conway in the second half of the Wales game.
If Henshaw does wear the number 23 shirt, he could cover both centre positions and he has also played at fullback before, although Joey Carbery covered that position from the bench last weekend.
Like Henderson, Henshaw is a proven top-level international and would back himself to bring new energy for Ireland if he starts on Saturday.
Either way, these are positive headaches for Farrell to have had this week. The return of two British and Irish Lions at a time when other players have performed well in the same positions is what every head coach wants.
Overall, Ireland are set to have a very settled look to their team, with Andrew Porter, Rónan Kelleher, and Tadhg Furlong in line to form an unchanged front row as Caelan Doris, Josh van der Flier, and Jack Conan look likely to go again in the back row.
Jamison Gibson-Park is favourite to continue in the number nine shirt, with captain Johnny Sexton at 10. Mack Hansen will look to build on his good debut on the left wing, while Conway and Hugo Keenan are expected to complete the back three.
Ireland are due to announce their matchday 23 before midday tomorrow, while France are also set to name theirs tomorrow morning at around 11am.
Inside centre Jonathan Danty has been ruled out with the ankle injury he suffered in their bonus-point win over Italy last weekend, meaning either Yoram Moefana or Virimi Vakatawa are set to come into the French midfield.
It was also thought that head coach Fabien Galthié could move Cameron Woki from the second row into the back row, with Bernard le Roux potentially coming in at lock, but le Roux has now been released back to Racing 92 for this weekend’s Top 14 action.
