Ireland v Samoa: World Cup warm-up preview

Ireland will play Samoa in their final game before the start of the World Cup. 

The test will give Ireland head coach Andy Farrell ample a final chance to see who really wants a starting spot and place in Ireland's final squad for the World Cup in September.

Here's a full preview of the game to come this Saturday.

Putting in the work! 😮‍💨#TeamOfUs pic.twitter.com/pXmjJ2aH7H

— Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) August 23, 2023

When is it on?

Saturday, August 26

What time is it on?

Kick-off 7:45pm Irish-time (8:45pm local)

What TV station is it on?

Live on Amazon Prime (UK) and RTE (ROI)

Where is it on?

Stade Jean-Dauger, Bayonne

What time does coverage start?

4.30pm

Can I listen to it on the radio?

You can catch updates here

Are there tickets still available

Tickets may be found here 

What are the odds

Odds can be found here

Referee

Wayne Barnes (England)

How many times have the sides played each other

Ireland and Samoa have played each other on seven occasions since their first meeting in 1988.

What is the head 2 head record 

Ireland have won six of those matches, whilst Samoa have just one victory.

What happened the last time the sides played

In their most recent meeting, Ireland beat Samoa 47-5 during the pool stages of the 2019 World Cup.

Squads and scorers that day

Ireland: Larmour; Earls, Henshaw, Aki, Stockdale; Sexton, Murray; Healy, Best, Furlong, Henderson, James Ryan; Beirne, Van der Flier, Stander.

Replacements: Scannell, Kilcoyne, Porter, Kleyn, O'Mahony, McGrath, Carbery, Conway.

Samoa: Nanai-Williams; Tuala, Leiua, Taefu, Fidow; Seuteni, Polataivao; Mulipola, S Lam Alaalatoa, Paulo, Le'aupepe; Vui, Ioane, J Lam.

Replacements: Niuia, Alo-Emile, Lay, Fa'asalele, Tyrell, Cowley, Pisi, Fonotia.

Fullback 15.  Jimmy O’Brien

Winger 14.  Mack Hansen

Centres 13.  Robbie Henshaw 12. Stuart McCloskey

Winger 11. Keith Earls

Outhalf 10  Jack Crowley Scrumhalf 9 Conor Murray

Front row 1. Cian Healy 2. Cian Healy 3.  Finlay Bealham

Second row 4. Iain Henderson (captain) 5. Tadhg Beirne

Back row 6. Ryan Baird 7. Josh van der Flier  8. Caelan Doris

Replacements  16. Rob Herring ,17. Jeremy Loughman,18. Tom O’Toole ,19. James Ryan ,20. Peter O’Mahony ,21. Craig Casey ,22. Ross Byrne  ,23. Garry Ringrose

What has Andy Farrell has said

"This is a great week for us, as in mimicking the weeks that could be coming up for us in all sorts of different ways," Farrell added. "Between the Romania game and the Tonga game, the heat could still be around, which it certainly is this week.

Weather

Updates can be found here