JOE SCHMIDT HAS revealed his hand for the opening game of Ireland’s summer series against Australia, with the head coach springing a couple of selection surprises for Saturday’s Test in Brisbane.
Carbery starts on Saturday. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
The main talking point surrounds the inclusion of Joey Carbery at out-half ahead of Johnny Sexton, with the Munster-bound 22-year-old set to start his first game against a Tier 1 nation in the number 10 position.
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While Schmidt was always likely to mix-and-match over the course of the three-Test series, his decision to make six changes for the opener against the Wallabies is somewhat unexpected, with only Rory Best forced out through injury.
Dan Leavy, Cian Healy, Tadhg Furlong, Sean Cronin and Sexton are all named on the bench after their exertions with Leinster over the last number of weeks, while Garry Ringrose is rested completely.
Peter O’Mahony takes over the captaincy duties in a back row alongside CJ Stander and Jordi Murphy.
To discuss Schmidt’s selection, and look ahead to the first Test, Murray Kinsella joined Ryan Bailey from Brisbane for the first episode of The42‘s The Rugby Show.
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The Rugby Show: Carbery's big chance, Schmidt's rotation and first Test predictions
JOE SCHMIDT HAS revealed his hand for the opening game of Ireland’s summer series against Australia, with the head coach springing a couple of selection surprises for Saturday’s Test in Brisbane.
The main talking point surrounds the inclusion of Joey Carbery at out-half ahead of Johnny Sexton, with the Munster-bound 22-year-old set to start his first game against a Tier 1 nation in the number 10 position.
While Schmidt was always likely to mix-and-match over the course of the three-Test series, his decision to make six changes for the opener against the Wallabies is somewhat unexpected, with only Rory Best forced out through injury.
Dan Leavy, Cian Healy, Tadhg Furlong, Sean Cronin and Sexton are all named on the bench after their exertions with Leinster over the last number of weeks, while Garry Ringrose is rested completely.
Peter O’Mahony takes over the captaincy duties in a back row alongside CJ Stander and Jordi Murphy.
To discuss Schmidt’s selection, and look ahead to the first Test, Murray Kinsella joined Ryan Bailey from Brisbane for the first episode of The42‘s The Rugby Show.
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Wallabies coach Cheika says this is the best Ireland team of all time
Schmidt: ‘We really wanted to get Joey out there at 10 at some stage’
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ireland down under Ireland Joe Schmidt Joey Carbery summer tests