ANDY FARRELL MUST have winced when he saw Jamison Gibson-Park reaching for his left hamstring after being smashed by Bulls tighthead Wilco Louw at the breakdown in Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.
The Ireland boss was planning for the inventive scrum-half to play a key role for his team at the same venue on 6 July when they face the Springboks but Farrell probably knew that wouldn’t be the case as soon as he saw Gibson-Park limping off after that clearout in obvious pain.
Gibson-Park has become one of Ireland’s most important players but they’ll have to do without him for their two clashes with the best team in the world in Pretoria and Durban.
Farrell is down a few of his first-choice backline with right wing Mack Hansen still not back from the shoulder injury he suffered on New Year’s Day and fullback Hugo Keenan missing this tour to chase an Olympic medal with the Ireland 7s.
Throw in the fact that Jack Conan – so often an important figure with his ability to offer serious bench impact – will also be absent due to personal reasons and Ireland are missing some firepower.
It’s the strain on his backs that is the biggest challenge for Farrell, even if he is always good at moving on quickly from injury setbacks to focus on the upside of what the next man in line can bring.
Conor Murray has been the second-choice scrum-half for Ireland for a while now and his sheer experience means he is probably in pole position to wear the number nine shirt in South Africa, even if Craig Casey starts ahead of him for Munster.
Casey’s speedy passing game suits what Ireland like to do in attack and he would obviously love the chance to kick on as the starter, but Farrell values the calm mindset and solidity that Murray offers. Either way, the Munster pair will need to work well in tandem in these Tests with Gibson-Park missing.
Connacht’s Caolin Blade has come into the squad as the third scrum-half after a season in which he started superbly but briefly lost his place to the exciting Matthew Devine towards the end of the campaign. The 30-year-old has two Ireland caps to his name and will be going all out to test the perceived pecking order.
Jack Crowley will continue to be the man at out-half and it looks like Ciarán Frawley will play the back-up role, all the more so if Ireland go for a 6/2 split. Frawley’s versatility allowed Farrell to try that for the first time in the Six Nations this year. 21-year-old Leinster out-half Sam Prendergast is included in the squad and has obvious talent, yet it would be a big ask to go straight into Test action against the world champions.
Of course, Frawley can also play fullback and is a candidate to slot into the number 15 shirt with Keenan missing. Frawley started there for one of the Six Nations games and made 11 starts at fullback for Leinster this season, so has time in the saddle recently.
However, Jimmy O’Brien is back in the Ireland squad after missing the Six Nations and he was second-in-line to Keenan at fullback before that, so it wouldn’t be any surprise to see him wearing number 15 in South Africa. O’Brien is in the mould of what Farrell likes from outside backs with his ability to fit into multiple roles in attack.
Calvin Nash had a good Six Nations after coming in for Hansen on the right wing so should continue there, while James Lowe is a key man on the left wing.
Jordan Larmour and Jacob Stockdale are the other back three options for Farrell, while the uncapped 22-year-old Jamie Osborne can play at fullback or on the wing but has predominantly featured in midfield for Leinster this season.
Munster’s Shane Daly had a strong campaign for his province and is unlucky to miss out on this squad but the most recent of his two Test caps was in 2021. Though he featured for Ireland A and Emerging Ireland in 2022, Daly hasn’t been able to get back into the senior squad.
In midfield, Farrell will have as tough a choice as ever with Bundee Aki, Robbie Henshaw, Garry Ringrose, and Stuart McCloskey joined by Osborne. Aki has surely made himself a must-pick at number 12, while Ringrose’s cutting edge provides nice balance at 13.
Ireland’s front row options have a familiar look to them, although there is an interesting tweak with Ulster tighthead Tom O’Toole set to cover loosehead behind Andrew Porter and Cian Healy.
O’Toole started training on the loosehead side with Ireland during the Six Nations but continued as a tighthead with Ulster. The push to have him cover loosehead is an indication of how Farrell and his coaches view the Irish loosehead depth chart.
It has been an area of concern for Ireland for some time and the O’Toole experiment is the latest attempt to come up with a solution. Jeremy Loughman, who was part of last year’s World Cup squad in Healy’s absence and also played once in the Six Nations, is squeezed out as a result.
It also means that Farrell can include both Finlay Bealham and Oli Jager along with Tadhg Furlong on the tighthead side. Jager made his debut during the Six Nations and Farrell wants to see more of the Munster man up close.
At hooker, Rob Herring returns after missing the Six Nations. He replaces Ulster team-mate Tom Stewart and brings plenty of experience. Still, it will be tough to break up the Leinster combination of Dan Sheehan and Rónan Kelleher in the matchday 23.
Iain Henderson is injured so Farrell has opted to go for just three locks in Tadhg Beirne, Joe McCarthy, and James Ryan, given that blindside flankers Ryan Baird and Cormac Izuchukwu also play in the second row.
The incumbent starters in the back row are captain Peter O’Mahony, Josh van der Flier, and Caelan Doris. O’Mahony continuing as skipper means he will start and it’s hard to see Farrell breaking that trio.
Nick Timoney returns to the squad in place of Conan, the Ulster’s man excellent form seeing him called up ahead of Munster’s Gavin Coombes, while Farrell has also recalled Connacht man Cian Prendergast. Lock/flanker hybrid Tom Ahern would likely have featured but for injury.
Prendergast missed out on the Six Nations having come close to forcing his way into last year’s World Cup squad but he has been impressive for Connacht this season and gets the nod ahead of other back row options like John Hodnett.
Van der Flier is the only out-and-out openside in the squad but we’ve seen before that Farrell is happy for Doris to wear the seven shirt, while O’Mahony has done so in the past and Timoney is also good there.
The fact that Ireland had to pointedly announce O’Mahony as the captain for this tour underlines that it wasn’t always set in stone. The 34-year-old had to consider his future, get his contract for next season sorted, and convince Farrell that his form still warranted first-choice status.
He has done that and Farrell is backing the Cork man to lead Ireland into what is going to be a hell of a battle with the Springboks.
The South Africans are frothing at the mouth for this series and Farrell will need his squad – deprived of some key men – to find immense energy for this final push in a long season.
