Ireland will be without top-class tighthead Tadhg Furlong for their clash with the All Blacks in Dublin on Friday.
It had been reported that the experienced prop suffered an injury and was set to miss their game this weekend. That has now been confirmed with Finlay Bealham coming into the XV.
Tom O’Toole also comes into the squad following Furlong’s absence as he takes his place on the bench.
Bealham is joined in the front-row by Ronan Kelleher, who is fit enough to start, and Andrew Porter.
The big decisions
Elsewhere, Andy Farrell has made big calls at wing, centre and back-row with Mack Hansen returning to the team in place of Calvin Nash.
Hansen missed the Six Nations and July series, with Nash starting on the right wing in those seven games, but the Connacht flyer is back in the XV despite not being at his best for his province this season.
The back three combination of Hansen, James Lowe and Hugo Keenan therefore reunites and will take to the field for the first time in over a year, which was coincidently the last time they played the All Blacks.
They will look to feed off the supply of ball they get from the centres, with Bundee Aki and Garry Ringrose getting the nod over Robbie Henshaw.
Jamison Gibson-Park, who missed the Springboks tour through injury, and Jack Crowley take the Ireland half-back slots, while up front new captain Caelan Doris is at number eight.
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Doris is flanked by Josh van der Flier and Tadhg Beirne, with Farrell deciding to go with the loose trio that started the second Test in South Africa.
That means former skipper Peter O’Mahony is on the bench and James Ryan and Joe McCarthy combine at lock.
O’Mahony is one of five forward replacements as the head coach opts for a 5-3 split, with Rob Herring, Cian Healy, O’Toole and Iain Henderson also providing cover.
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Conor Murray, Ciaran Frawley and Jamie Osborne, who is selected ahead of Henshaw and Stuart McCloskey, cover the backs.
“I am really pleased with the effort of the squad across the week’s training camp in Portugal. Since assembling at the IRFU high performance centre last week, the players have brought real application to training and it’s great to see a number of players back from injury, which is testament to their diligence and the superb work of the medical team,” Farrell said.
“It’s a hugely exciting four weeks ahead in Aviva Stadium and we know we’ll need to perform at a high level to beat a top-class New Zealand side. The challenge doesn’t come much bigger or better than New Zealand at a packed Aviva Stadium on a Friday night under lights with a home crowd roaring us on.”
All Blacks team v Ireland: ‘World-class’ duo ruled out as Scott Robertson makes enforced changes for ‘fierce’ Irish ‘challenge’
Ireland team to face the All Blacks
Ireland: 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Mack Hansen, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 James Lowe, 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Caelan Doris (c), 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Tadhg Beirne, 5 James Ryan, 4 Joe McCarthy, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Rónan Kelleher, 1 Andrew Porter
Replacements: 16 Rob Herring, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Tom O’Toole, 19 Iain Henderson, 20 Peter O’Mahony, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Ciaran Frawley, 23 Jamie Osborne
Date: Friday, November 8
Venue: Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Kick-off: 20:10 GMT (Saturday, 09:10 NZDT)
Referee: Nic Berry (Australia)
Assistant Referees: Karl Dickson (England), Andrea Piardi (Italy)
TMO: Brett Cronan (Australia)
READ MORE: All Blacks team v Ireland: Winners and losers as Scott Robertson rewards ‘superb’ duo but not ‘mighty’ forward while ‘world-class’ operator is snubbed
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Publish date : 2024-11-09 20:57:03
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