THIS IS THE one we’ve all been waiting for and you can bet Ireland’s players feel the same. They have bigger goals in this World Cup than just winning pool games, but this weekend’s clash with South Africa is shaping up as momentous.
It’s helpful to Andy Farrell that all of his key front-liners appeared to come through last weekend’s clash with Tonga unscathed.
The obvious injury concern arising from that game was tighthead prop Finlay Bealham, who came on for Tadhg Furlong at half time in Nantes but was forced back off 10 minutes later with a head injury. Furlong had to play 78 minutes in total when you include the clock running eight minutes into the red at the end of the first half.
Farrell didn’t shed much light on Bealham’s head injury post-game so it’s a case of wait-and-see with the Connacht man, who has been excellent for Ireland this year. He shone when Furlong was injured during the Six Nations, starting three games in the Grand Slam run before getting injured himself.
So Bealham would be missed if he’s ruled out with concussion, but Tom O’Toole’s progress this year has been welcome. The Ulster man was urged by Farrell to step up and did so with five replacement appearances in the Six Nations. Facing the Springboks’ famous Bomb Squad would be a new challenge but O’Toole has given the Ireland coaches more assurance in the past year.
Overall, it appears likely that the Ireland team will have a settled look to it this weekend in Paris.
Scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park was absent from the matchday 23 last weekend against Tonga but he togged out for the warm-up and didn’t appear to be dealing with any injury issues.
Conor Murray had another good game for Ireland at number nine and it’s tempting to think that perhaps his skills would be suited to the Springboks game, but Gibson-Park has been integral to Ireland’s excellence over the last two years.
Farrell has never been one to change his plans all that much for the opposition and so, it would be difficult to leave Gibson-Park’s creative skillset and pace out of the starting XV for this clash with the South Africans. Murray will have a big role to play either way.
The other regular front-liner missing last weekend was Dan Sheehan, who has been sidelined for the past four weeks with a foot injury but returned to team training with Ireland last week.
The Tonga clash came too soon for him but Ireland said they’re confident he will be available for selection against the Boks. It was heartening for Farrell and forwards coach Paul O’Connell to see Rónan Kelleher deliver such a strong 40-minute outing last weekend against the Tongans, given Sheehan’s lack of game time in recent weeks.
With Kelleher having been taken off at half time in Nantes, he could be in line to start again this weekend, with Sheehan possibly adding punch off the bench. That said, Rob Herring has been superb at hooker for Ireland and it would be cruel if he was to miss out. It’s a nice problem for Farrell and co. to have.
The main conundrum for the Ireland boss ahead of this game may have been the back five of his scrum, where he has some great options.
Having previously been used predominantly as a second row by Ireland, it was interesting to see Tadhg Beirne start the opening World Cup game against Romania at blindside flanker.
Given the Springboks’ strengths at lineout and maul, there’s an argument for Ireland to go with Beirne in the hybrid lock/blindside flanker role at number six again in Paris.
That would mean James Ryan being joined by either Iain Henderson or Joe McCarthy in the second row. 22-year-old McCarthy’s size, dynamism, and energy are attractive, but Henderson has far more proven experience in Test rugby. Henderson can also call lineouts, something McCarthy doesn’t do yet.
And if Beirne played at number six, that would also mean Ireland having to use either Peter O’Mahony or Josh van der Flier off the bench against the South Africans. Given that O’Mahony has excelled as an impact player for Ireland several times before, perhaps he’d be most likely to wear the number 20 shirt.
The other possibility is that Beirne simply slots into the second row alongside Ryan, which he did against Tonga, with O’Mahony and van der Flier combining in a familiar back row with number eight Caelan Doris. Given that’s how Farrell went last weekend, it seems more likely in Paris.
There has been some discussion recently about Ireland possibly using a 6/2 bench split of forwards and backs in order to include more ballast up front, but Ireland have strongly favoured a 5/3 split under Farrell. Again, would it be right to rip up that part of the script just for the Boks? Perhaps it’s wise to adapt to the challenge at hand but Farrell generally likes to think about what his team is going to do first.
The starting XV selection will help to figure out exactly how the second row and back row bench spots go. A combination of Henderson and Ryan Baird would be punchy if that’s how it pans out, while McCarthy has a claim too.
Ireland have said Jack Conan is due to return from injury this week but it remains unclear how ready he is for a game of this magnitude. The Leinster man hasn’t played since seven weekends ago, so it might be a big leap to come straight back in from his foot injury.
With Robbie Henshaw favourite to be at number 23 again this weekend, the other call is for the back-up out-half slot but again, last weekend was possibly a clue in that regard. Ross Byrne played the entire second half and did well for Ireland.
Jack Crowley is more versatile and arguably offers more game-breaking ability in terms of the running game, but Byrne has grown in that regard, has more experience, and has clearly earned the trust of Farrell and his assistants.
In the end, it could be a familiar-looking Irish selection.
