Earls' 100th cap imminent as Ireland announce team
TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT: James Ryan will captain Ireland in the final home match before the World Cup, while Keith Earls is in line to win his 100th Test cap in green should he feature off the replacements bench.
Earls, who made his Ireland debut against Canada in November 2008, is set to become the ninth Ireland player to reach the landmark, following in the footsteps of Brian O’Driscoll (133), Ronan O’Gara (128), Cian Healy (124), Rory Best (124), Johnny Sexton (113), Paul O’Connell (108), John Hayes (105) and Conor Murray (105).
Hugo Keenan, Mack Hansen and James Lowe make up the Ireland starting back three, with Bundee Aki and Garry Ringrose also set for their first appearances of the Bank of Ireland Nations Series in midfield. Leinster pair Ross Byrne and Jamison Gibson-Park start in the half-backs.
In the pack, Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan and Tadhg Furlong start in the front row, with Tadhg Beirne joining Ryan – who captains Ireland for the eighth time on Saturday – in the second row.
The loose forwards are Peter O’Mahony, Josh van der Flier and Cian Prendergast.
Farrell has strong options across the bench, with Rob Herring, Jeremy Loughman and Finlay Bealham providing the front row reinforcements.
Joe McCarthy and Caelan Doris will look to make big impacts when called upon, while the Munster trio of Conor Murray, Jack Crowley and centurion in waiting Earls complete the Match Day 23.
Ireland: 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Mack Hansen, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 James Lowe, 10 Ross Byrne, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park. 8 Cian Prendergast, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Peter O’Mahony, 5 James Ryan (captain), 4 Tadhg Beirne, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Dan Sheehan, 1 Andrew Porter.
Replacements: 16 Rob Herring, 17 Jeremy Loughman, 18 Finlay Bealham, 19 Joe McCarthy, 20 Caelan Doris, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Jack Crowley, 23 Keith Earls
Venue: Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Kick-off: 18.30 (16.30 GMT)
Referee: Paul Williams (NZR)
Assistant Referees: Craig Evans (WRU), Adam Jones (WRU)
TMO: Ben Whitehouse (WRU)
