The presence of former Ireland heroes Keith Earls and Cian Healy in camp this week at Andy Farrell’s invitation was a timely reminder of the national side’s recent highs at Test rugby’s top table.
Which made the head coach’s decision to take the plunge with a new-look team for this Saturday’s home Guinness Six Nations clash with Italy all the more poignant.
He had steered those players and many other fellow retirees to those highs of 2022-24 yet on Thursday he was bracing supporters heading to the sold-out Aviva Stadium clash that the sort of pain experienced in Paris the previous weekend as France dismantled Ireland in a 36-14 hammering should not be ruled out further down the road as he attempts to regenerate his side.
Two days on from his scrum coach John Fogarty declaring reports of Ireland’s terminal decline were disingenuous, Farrell conceded setbacks such as last Thursday week at Stade de France were to be expected as he finds way to compensate for the losses of such trusted frontliners as Earls and Healy, not to mention fellow Test centurions Johnny Sexton, Peter O’Mahony and Conor Murray to retirement since the 2023 World Cup.
“My attention is always on the here and now because it matters massively,” Farrell said after naming a team showing six changes to the starting line-up which allowed the French to march into a 29-0 lead after 50 minutes. “But I’ve said this before, that where a squad is always at is completely different for every generation really.
“We just happen to be that we’ve lost a lot of experience and people are coming in with a lot of new caps, certainly a lot of players under 10 caps and they have to go through this. They have to go through Paris on a Thursday night for us to grow and learn and along with the players that we’ve not got that are injured, but also the potential of the players that we’re trying to give this experience to them.
“I’m experienced about that down the track, and that track is not too far away and I’m super excited about that. You always have to go through a little bit of pain to get to that point. We’ve always gone through that with every generation.”
Six Nations debuts for starting right wing Rob Baloucoune and his Ulster team-mate Cormac Izuchukwu at blindside flanker, and a potential debut off the bench for Munster lock Edwin Edogbo, represent just some of the surgery done on a team the head coach had lambasted for a “lack of intent” in terms of physicality in those opening 50 minutes against France.
Left wing Jacob Stockdale has also been jettisoned with James Lowe recalled at number 11, while former World Rugby Men’s XVs player of the year Josh van der Flier has also dropped out of the matchday 23 with Farrell reconfiguring his back row alongside Izuchukwu. Captain Caelan Doris switches from No.8 to openside flanker as Jack Conan fills the vacuum following an impressive turn off the bench in Paris.
There is a similar reward for James Ryan who swaps his place among the replacements last time out for Tadhg Beirne’s in the second row alongside Joe McCarthy, while Jamison Gibson-Park also moves to the bench as Craig Casey gets his opportunity as the starting scrum-half.
Beirne and Gibson-Park are joined on the bench by a fit-again Tadhg Furlong, whose calf injury kept him out of the squad for France, with Finlay Bealham making way for the three-tour Lions Test starting tighthead prop. And there will be disappointment for loosehead prop Michael Milne, a try scorer off the bench in Paris, who has lost his place to Tom O’Toole, who has started at tighthead all season for Ulster.
If nothing else, Farrell’s selection highlights that no player is ever untouchable, with van der Flier the most prominent fall guy and the head coach insisting he is not rotating with a trip to face England at Twickenham to follow seven days later.
“I think everyone realises that anyway, we all know what Josh can and will bring. He doesn’t get the opportunity this week, but next week? We’ll see about that, there’s a door open for a different back-row, a different second-row partnership.
“Furlong coming back in, Tom O’Toole, there’s change all over there.
“Our captain playing a different role, he’s done that very well before for us. Jack Conan 100 per cent deserves a start, I thought he and James Ryan were excellent last week. They showed the way, showed the character that’s needed. So, there’s always reasons for it.”
J Osborne (Leinster); R Baloucoune (Ulster), G Ringrose (Leinster), S McCloskey (Ulster), J Lowe (Leinster); S Prendergast (Leinster), C Casey (Munster); J Loughman (Munster), D Sheehan (Leinster), T Clarkson (Leinster); J McCarthy (Leinster), J Ryan (Leinster); C Izuchukwu (Ulster), C Doris (Leinster) – captain, J Conan (Leinster).
R Kelleher (Leinster), T O’Toole (Ulster), T Furlong (Leinster), E Edogbo (Munster), T Beirne (Munster), N Timoney (Ulster), J Gibson-Park (Leinster), J Crowley (Munster).
