Ireland player-by-player

15Luke Fitzgerald Age: 23. Height: 6ft 1ins. Weight: 92kg (14st 6lbs). Caps: 14 He is playing in his preferred position and given his excellent broken-field running ability it should provide Ireland with a perfect counter-attacking platform.

14Tommy Bowe

Age: 26. Height: 6ft 3ins.

Weight: 96kg (15st 2lbs). Caps: 33

His handling let him down a little at times last week, a rare aberration for a player who has been in a rich vein of form. Hopefully part of a potent back three.

13Brian O'Driscoll (capt)

Age: 31. Height: 5ft 10ins.

Weight: 95kg (15st). Caps: 104

There’s no doubt he’ll have benefited from last week’s outing and while an important figure in defence, it’d be nice to dwell on his attacking skills-set after 80 minutes.

12Paddy Wallace

Age: 31. Height: 5ft 11ins.

Weight: 81kg (12st 10lbs). Caps: 22

He possesses the footballing ability to open doors for others and he’s well versed with the role of inside centre, dating back to his Ireland Under-21 days.

11Andrew Trimble

Age: 26 Height: 6ft 2ins.

Weight: 98kg (15st 6lbs) Caps: 29

His aggressive lines of running and facility to pop up in less orthodox positions will give his team plenty of options, which they would be foolish to under-utilise.

10Ronan O'Gara

Age: 33 Height: 6ft.

Weight: 84kg (13st 2lbs) Caps: 100

He was a catalyst for Ireland’s late surge against the Springboks and very unfortunate not to rescue a draw with the touchline conversion. Interesting to note the patterns pursued today.

9Peter Stringer

Age: 32. Height: 5ft 7ins.

Weight: 71kg (11st 3lbs). Caps: 92

Another whose introduction last weekend injected pace and direction that facilitated Ireland’s late flourish: will want to build on that impact.

1Tom Court

Age: 30. Height: 6ft 3ins.

Weight: 122kg (19st 3lbs). Caps: 10

He solidified the scrum when introduced from the bench but moves across to the loosehead position today. He’ll want to be equally conspicuous around the pitch.

2Séan Cronin

Age: 24. Height: 6ft.

Weight: 105kg (16st 7lbs). Caps: 4

He possesses tremendous pace and is an important ball-carrying asset. The lineout is a primary function and platform so he’ll want to get that right.

3John Hayes

Age: 37. Height: 6ft 4ins.

Weight: 128kg (20st 2lb) Caps: 102

He has had very limited opportunities this season so he will cherish this chance. His lineout lifting and in defending rucks and mauls shouldn’t be overlooked.

4Donncha O'Callaghan

Age: 31. Height: 6ft 6ins.

Weight: 112kg (17st 8lbs). Caps: 64

He will be in the van of Ireland’s defence when the Samoans come trundling around the fringes and as the senior player in the engine room needs to lead by deed.

5Devin Toner

Age: 24. Height: 6ft 10ins.

Weight: 120kg (18st 11lbs). Caps: 0

He makes his debut and will be charged with calling the lineouts. He’s stepped up with Leinster this season and there’s no reason to suspect he won’t do so here. Has a rapport with Cronin from underage.

6Denis Leamy

Age: 28. Height: 6ft 2ins.

Weight: 108kg (16st 13lb) Caps: 43

Muscling into the Irish backrow constitutes a very difficult task given the depth of quality. No questioning his ability and he will relish the collisions.

7Séan O'Brien

Age: 23. Height: 6ft 2ins.

Weight: 108kg (16st 13lb). Caps: 3

His introduction means the team has an excellent primary ball carrier. He’s developed an ability to offload intelligently as his game has matured.

8Jamie Heaslip

Age: 26. Height: 6ft 3ins.

Weight: 109kgs (17st 1lb). Caps: 28

Watching a reprise of the Springbok game underlined just how effective he was in a defensive capacity. Irish supporters will hope to see him more today with ball in hand.