Head Coach Andy Farrell has revealed the Ireland Match Day squad for the Guinness Men’s Six Nations opener against France in Marseille on Friday night. A number of new faces have made the starting 15.
Munster's duo of Calvin Nash and Jack Crowley starts, while Leinster's Joe McCarthy also gets the nod from Farrell.
A back trio of Nash, Hugo Keenan, and James Lowe start in France, while a midfield pairing of Bundee Aki and Robbie Henshaw keeps things ticking over in the Ireland midfield.
Now that former Ireland captain Johnny Sexton has retired, the outhalf position is up for grabs, and Farrell has selected Crowley as his starting 10. Jamison Gibson-Park is his halfback partner at scrum-half.
In the front row, Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, and Tadhg Furlong start as the recognised Irish front row. McCarthy starts alongside Tadhg Beirne in the second row.
Peter O'Mahony captains the side from the backrow and is joined by the likes of Josh van der Flier and Caelan Doris there.
Farrell has also gone with a 6/2 split for the game. The likes of Ronan Kelleher, Cian Healy, Finlay Bealham, James Ryan, Ryan Baird, and Jack Conan offer pack support from the bench. The backline options include Conor Murray and Ciaran Frawley.
On site in Marseille! 📍#TeamOfUs pic.twitter.com/pMJa5YitnL
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Speaking in a press conference on Friday, Farrell said he wants an Ireland squad that embraces changes and embraces the challenge of facing France on Friday night.
"The exciting thing for me is, are we brave enough? Have we got enough courage to go and do what we said we're going to do? And obviously, we're playing against a world-class side," he added.
"But taking your opportunity and being the best version of ourselves is the expectation that we have of ourselves, so living up to that is going to be demanding for us.
"But if you want to be successful, if you want to try to be the best, then you've got to beat the best in places like this, and the occasion doesn't get much bigger.
"We've got to relish those types of occasions and go after them."
The highly anticipated match on Friday will be broadcast live on Virgin Media One in the Republic of Ireland and ITV in the United Kingdom. (Kick-off is at 9 pm local time or 8 pm Irish time.)
Starting Lineup:
Hugo Keenan Fullback James Lowe, Wing Calvin Nash, Wing
Robbie Henshaw, Centre Bundee Aki Centre
Jack Crowley Fly-half Jamison Gibson-Park, Scrum-half
Andrew Porter, Prop Dan Sheehan, Hooker Tadhg Furlong, Prop
Joe McCarthy: Lock Tadhg Beirne: Lock
Peter O'Mahony, Flanker (Captain) Josh van der Flier, Flanker Caelan Doris, Number 8
Replacements:
Ronan Kelleher, Hooker Cian Healy, Prop Finlay Bealham, Prop James Ryan: Lock: Ryan Baird: Lock Jack Conan, Number 8: Conor Murray, Scrum-half Ciaran Frawley Fly-half
