JOE SCHMIDT HAS included Jordan Larmour and Tadhg Beirne in a strong Ireland team to face Samoa in their final World Cup Pool A game on Saturday in Fukuoka [KO 11.45am Irish time, eir Sport/RTÉ].
22-year-old Larmour starts at fullback with Rob Kearney absent from the matchday squad having picked up an injury in last Thursday’s clash with Russia.
Beirne gets the nod at blindside flanker, with Peter O’Mahony on the bench after starting all three of Ireland’s pool games so far.
Meanwhile, Robbie Henshaw is set for his first outing of the World Cup after recovering from a hamstring injury to be named in the number 13 jersey.
In total, Schmidt has made 12 personnel changes from the win over Russia, with only Keith Earls, Beirne and out-half Johnny Sexton retained.
Earls shifts from the left wing to the right to accommodate the return of Jacob Stockdale, while Henshaw partners Bundee Aki in midfield and Sexton is alongside Conor Murray in the halfbacks.
The front-line front row of Cian Healy, captain Rory Best and Tadhg Furlong is back, as is the combination of Iain Henderson and James Ryan in the second row, while Beirne teams up with Josh van der Flier and CJ Stander in the back row.
Munster lock Jean Kleyn has been included among the replacements, along with Joey Carbery, who is back from an ankle issue.
Ireland (v Samoa):
15. Jordan Larmour
14. Keith Earls
13. Robbie Henshaw
12. Bundee Aki
11. Jacob Stockdale
10. Johnny Sexton
9. Conor Murray
1. Cian Healy
2. Rory Best (captain)
3. Tadhg Furlong
4. Iain Henderson
5. James Ryan
6. Tadhg Beirne
7. Josh van der Flier
8. CJ Stander
Replacements:
16. Niall Scannell
17. Dave Kilcoyne
18. Andrew Porter
19. Jean Kleyn
20. Peter O’Mahony
21. Luke McGrath
22. Joey Carbery
23. Andrew Conway
Referee: Nic Berry [Australia].
- This article was updated to indicate that Niall Scannell, rather than Sean Cronin, has been selected in the number 16 shirt.