IRELAND LOOK SET to hand 22-year-old second row Joe McCarthy his second Test start in Saturday’s World Cup opener against Romania in Bordeaux.
The Leinster lock did well in Ireland’s warm-up games, making his first Test start against Italy, and has been earning rave reviews from within camp.
McCarthy is a big man at 6ft 6ins and over 120kg, with his dynamism in the carry, tackle, scrum, and maul all impressing the Irish coaching staff. He has been working hard on his discipline too and now looks set to play a prominent role in this World Cup.
McCarthy is set to start in a strong Ireland team against Romania as head coach Andy Farrell looks to get his side’s campaign up and running in style at Stade de Bordeaux.
The Irish coaching staff are understood to be keen to get instant momentum in their opening game, breathing life into Ireland’s World Cup bid from the very off. Farrell will also be keen to see a more cohesive effort from his side after the bitty warm-up performances. Romania are ranked 19th in the world and Ireland are 62-point favourites for this game.
It’s expected that the team will feature front-liners such as Jamison Gibson-Park, Josh van der Flier, Hugo Keenan, and Caelan Doris.
It also seems likely that captain Johnny Sexton will start at out-half as he gets back up and running after a three-match suspension saw him miss all of Ireland’s warm-up games.
Ireland will be without first-choice hooker Dan Sheehan due to a foot injury, meaning Rónan Kelleher could come straight back in after recovering from the hamstring issue that kept him out of the warm-up matches.
Back row Jack Conan is also still on the comeback trail from a foot injury, while loosehead prop Dave Kilcoyne has been dealing with a hamstring problem. As such, Farrell’s options are narrowed down slightly and the Irish selection for this opener should be strong.
Farrell is due to name his matchday 23 in Bordeaux at 12.30pm Irish time tomorrow.
