WITH ANDY FARRELL expected to name a very settled-looking Ireland team for this weekend’s Six Nations, the most interesting selection call is likely to come at inside centre.
Robbie Henshaw is missing as he continues to recover from wrist surgery so he won’t be alongside Leinster team-mate Garry Ringrose, who is nailed-on at number 13.
Henshaw has had a tough run on the injury front, having had a hamstring issue earlier this season that meant he made just one brief appearance for Ireland against Fiji in the autumn. He does hope to be back fully fit during this Six Nations window and should return to the Ireland squad at some stage.
This week, though, Farrell will have had to make a decision between Stuart McCloskey, Bundee Aki, and the uncapped Jamie Osborne. It would be a huge leap for 21-year-old Osborne to go straight into Ireland’s starting XV away from home in the Six Nations, but he has been in strong form and is highly regarded.
McCloskey is the incumbent in this position, having started all three of Ireland’s November Tests at number 12 and done well.
He was excellent for the first half-hour against South Africa before being forced off injured, showed off his distribution skills in the win over Fiji, then played 54 minutes of the narrow victory over the Wallabies.
McCloskey has been in good form for Ulster since, even with the northern province having struggled for wins. The 30-year-old Bangor man has continued to carry hard, pass accurately, win turnovers in defence, and show his kicking game at times. He will be desperate to add to his nine Ireland caps.
Aki has had a frustrating season. He was banned for seven weeks after being red-carded earlier in the campaign, missing Ireland’s first two autumn Tests as a result. He was with the squad throughout that window, however, and returned off the bench against the Wallabies in impressive fashion.
Aki came on for McCloskey that day and reminded everyone of the physicality and energy he can bring. The Connacht man scored a powerful close-range try that edged Ireland in front in the final quarter. In fairness, there has never been any real doubt about Aki’s ability on the Test scene. He has proven himself time and time again over 41 caps, while he is also very familiar with playing alongside Johnny Sexton and Ringrose in midfield.
In that sense, he could be a straightforward pick for Farrell in what should be an immensely combative game against the Welsh, but Aki doesn’t have any provincial form on his side. We know that provincial form isn’t always the most relevant thing when it comes to the Ireland team, but Aki has had very little game time recently.
Amidst murmurings of a fallout off the pitch, Connacht haven’t picked Aki to play at all this month. His most recent outing was on 23 December against Ulster. As highlighted above, Aki can clearly come back from time out and make an impact in Test rugby, but he obviously would have liked to have some game rhythm on his side.
Osborne is the new face on the scene, having earned his call-up with standout performances for Leinster.
He has also played at outside centre, fullback, and on the wing for his province, but his displays at number 12 over the last two months have been impressive.
The Naas RFC product has a rounded skillset and is a powerful young player with good footwork. It remains to be seen whether Farrell believes Osborne is ready for the top level just yet, although his versatility could be useful in the matchday 23.
His Leinster team-mate Jimmy O’Brien offers similar versatility from the number 23 shirt and was impressive last autumn, while Aki was in that jersey for the Wallabies game and made a big impact.
McCloskey must feel that he deserves another shot in the starting XV but Aki’s proven quality in the Test arena will also be hard to overlook.
Farrell will announce his matchday 23 on Thursday.
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