Best leads Irish in Schmidt farewell
TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT: Ireland captain Rory Best will win his 120th cap on his last appearance in a World Cup warm-up match in Dublin on Saturday.
The game also marks the final match for Joe Schmidt on Irish soil.
Best, who will retire after the World Cup, leads a much-changed Ireland team against Wales in the final match before the global showpiece.
Cian Healy and Tadhg Furlong join the Ireland captain in the front row, with James Ryan and Jean Kleyn packing down in the second row.
Jack Conan starts at No.8, with Christiaan Stander coming into the back row at No.6 and Josh van der Flier named at No.7.
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Jonathan Sexton makes his seasonal debut and is joined in the halfbacks by Conor Murray.
Bundee Aki starts at No.12, with Robbie Henshaw coming in at No.13.
Keith Earls is also back, on the left wing, with Jordan Larmour on the right and Rob Kearney at fullback.
Sean Cronin is in line to win his 70th cap, as he is named in the replacements.
He is joined by Dave Kilcoyne, Andrew Porter, Iain Henderson and Rhys Ruddock as the forward cover. Luke McGrath, Jack Carty and Garry Ringrose are the replacement backs.
Ireland: 15 Rob Kearney, 14 Jordan Larmour, 13 Robbie Henshaw, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Keith Earls, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Jack Conan, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Christiaan Stander, 5 Jean Kleyn, 4 James Ryan, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Rory Best (captain), 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements: 16 Sean Cronin, 17 Dave Kilcoyne, 18 Andrew Porter, 19 Iain Henderson, 20 Rhys Ruddock, 21 Luke McGrath, 22 Jack Carty, 23 Garry Ringrose.
Date: Saturday, September 7
Venue: Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Kick-off: 14.00 (13.00 GMT)
Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)
Assistant referees: Wayne Barnes (England), Luke Pearce (England)
TMO: Graham Hughes (England)
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