Two new faces for Ireland
TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT: Ireland head coach Andy Farrell has included two uncapped players in his starting team to face Fiji on Saturday in Dublin.
Leinster hooker and former Ireland U20 Grand Slam winning captain Gus McCarthy earns a debut in the front row, while Ulster loose forward Cormac Izuchukwu is selected to start at blindside flank for his first cap.
After an impressive cameo off the bench in the win over Argentina last week, Jamie Osborne is named at fullback for his first start in green in Dublin, joining Mack Hansen and Jacob Stockdale in the Ireland back three.
Robbie Henshaw starts at outside centre and is joined in the midfield by Bundee Aki, while Sam Prendergast is set for his first Test start in a halfback pairing with Craig Casey.
In the pack, Andrew Porter and Finlay Bealham are either side of uncapped hooker McCarthy, who was initially named in the Nations Series squad as a training panellist but has impressed Farrell and the Coaching Team during the warm-weather training camp in Portugal and over the last two match weeks in Dublin.
Joe McCarthy continues in the second row and is joined by Tadhg Beirne, who moves forward from the back row, allowing Izuchukwu to come in for his debut at six having been a member of the July Tour squad to South Africa and the recent Emerging Ireland Tour.
The 24-year-old has plenty of experience alongside him in the Ireland back row as Josh van der Flier is named at openside and captain Caelan Doris at No.8 to complete the starting XV.
On the bench, Rónan Kelleher, Tom O’Toole, Thomas Clarkson, Iain Henderson and Cian Prendergast provide the forward options for Farrell, while Conor Murray, Ciaran Frawley and Stuart McCloskey are the backline replacements.
“On Saturday we welcome two new more debutants and I’m delighted for Cormac and Gus who have impressed with their work-rate and application over recent weeks and months,” Farrell said.
“They have both performed strongly for their Provinces, brought that good form into the recent Emerging Ireland Tour and are now being rewarded for their efforts. We wish them well as they take this exciting next steps in their careers.”
Farrell added: “There were signs of improvement last weekend and this week has been about building and embracing the challenge of a talented Flying Fijian side who will be coming over to Dublin full of confidence after their recent displays.”
Ireland: 15 Jamie Osborne, 14 Mack Hansen, 13 Robbie Henshaw, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Jacob Stockdale, 10 Sam Predergast, 9 Craig Casey, 8 Caelan Doris (captain), 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Cormac Izuchukwu, 5 Tadgh Beirne, 4 Joe McCarthy, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Gus McCarthy, 1 Andrew Porter.
Replacements: 16 Rónan Kelleher, 17 Tom O’Toole, 18 Thomas Clarkson, 19 Iain Henderson, 20 Cian Prendergast, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Ciaran Frawley, 23 Stuart McCloskey.
Date: Saturday, November 23
Venue: Landsdowne Road, Dublin
Kick-off: 15.10 (15.10 GMT; 03.10 Sunday, November 24 Fiji time)
Referee: Hollie Davidson (Scotland)
Assistant Referees: Matthew Carley (England) & Sam Grove-White (Scotland)
TMO: Mike Adamson (Scotland)
