So, as expected, pedigree counted. It was never going to be a form selection per se. It never could be. Like never before there wasn’t enough form to go on.
Once again the Brave Blossoms have commanded respect. All bar the injured Robbie Henshaw of the eight Irish Lions who travelled to South Africa are named for Saturday's autumn series opener against Japan at the Aviva Stadium (kick-off 1pm).
Delayed returns have contributed to Iain Henderson and Conor Murray being confined to places on the bench, with fellow Lion Tadhg Beirne and Jamison Gibson-Park preferred.
Andrew Porter, originally picked for that tour before injury cruelly prevented him boarding the flight, also makes his first Test start at loosehead, while there are a further four Lions from previous tours among the matchday squad.
Porter's return to loosehead had been in the making for a while. Watching him alongside Rónan Kelleher and Tadhg Furlong on the rampage against the Scarlets three weeks ago at the RDS, along with the Caelan Doris-Josh van der Flier-Jack Conan backrow, the thought occurred then that this was also the Irish pack in the making save for the issue of who partnered James Ryan.
Yes, it’s Leinster heavy in a blue-tinged side, but they are awash with might be a golden generation of relatively young frontrowers and Ireland’s pack is noticeably full of players who are comfortable on the ball, be it carrying or distributing.
Coupled with the selection of the powerful, 23-year-old, 111kg, 6' 3" uncapped hooker Dan Sheehan on the bench, it would seem to suggest Ireland are seeking more of a 15-man, running, passing and offloading game.
"Not necessarily," said Andy Farrell, before asserting: "It is a brilliant pack. It's dynamic, it's quick, it's fit. They've not had a lot of exposure this year as individuals, certainly not as a group and with the type of opposition we've got leads us to make the decisions.
“And, we know we’ve got three games back-to-back that are going to be very taxing for us. We’ve all got best-laid plans, but I’m certainly aware that those plans can be messed up in the first five minutes of a rugby game as well.”
Lions tours can elevate players to new levels, and after being an ever-present in the Test series Conan’s swaggering performances in his two return outings suggest he is a case in point.
“Something’s clicked with Jack in the last 12 months,” ventured Farrell. “He had a torrid time with injuries. He was a little bit stop/start as far as the international arena was concerned, but something’s clicked with him. He’s very comfortable in his own skin. He understands what his points of difference are and he’s certainly putting it out there on the field and in his first Test match of the season, hopefully he can hit the ground running.”
Gibson-Park's selection alongside the centurion Johnny Sexton is perhaps also a signal of intent to match Japan's high-tempo game.
“He’s started believing in himself at this level,” ventured Farrell, noting that Gibson-Park had now reached 10 caps. “He’s not just going about his job, making sure that he’s okay across his work, he’s comfortable with all that now. He’s able to lead, he’s come out of himself within the squad and therefore I think that’s relaxed him as well and we see his point of difference come out.”
Recalling the July meeting with Japan, Farrell added: “That’s the speed of the game that we want him to play. He’s an instinctive player and he certainly did that, that day.”
While this selection will invariably mirror the team to face the All Blacks next weekend to some degree, Farrell maintained: “It’s one hundred per cent open. I’ve never been a coach that promised anyone anything. I learned a long, long time ago never to shoot myself in the foot. You’ve got to earn your right to play.”
The same rationale applied to outhalf. “We want those guys and other 10s to challenge Johnny and knock him off his perch. That’s what competition is all about in a squad,” said Farrell.
“You don’t want to just hand something over to someone that doesn’t deserve it. That’s not a squad.”
In any event, provincial considerations were not a factor.
“I would never do the squad a disservice by looking at who I’m picking in terms of who they play for. It’s certainly not fair to the team or the squad and 100 per cent not fair to an individual. We pick the team on merit, on what is right, and where the squad is at, at that point in time.”
Both the threat and the familiarity posed by Japan is evidenced in Jamie Joseph’s settled selection.
There are only three changes to the side beaten 32-23 by Australia in Oita two weeks ago, with the brilliant Clermont fullback Kotaro Matsushima available again.
Yu Tamura, used off the bench that day but an integral fulcrum in Shizuoka and July, is reunited with another key figure from Shizuoka, Yutaka Nagare, absent in July for personal reasons. The 24-year-old South African-born Dylan Riley, who made his debut against Australia as a replacement, starts.
Nine of this side started their World Cup pool win in Shizuoka and 11 did so at the Aviva last July, whereas Ireland retain just six from that starting XV.
“People say the entertainers are in town – I don’t see them like the Harlem Globetrotters at all, they’ve got a good set-piece, they play direct, quick, their breakdown is aggressive,” said Farrell.
“In the last couple of games I’ve seen them, their defence has certainly improved as well. There’s a lot more aggression, line-speed and physicality in how they play.
“Their defence is now playing almost up and in, it’s a pressure type of game they’re playing. Their kicking game is second to none really, certainly their attacking kicking game. This is a proper Test match, you guys know that. I’m not sure everybody else does but we certainly do.”
IRELAND: Hugo Keenan (Leinster); Andrew Conway (Munster), Garry Ringrose (Leinster), Bundee Aki (Connacht), James Lowe (Leinster); Johnny Sexton (Leinster, capt), Jamison Gibson Park (Leinster); Andrew Porter (Leinster), Rónan Kelleher (Leinster), Tadhg Furlong (Leinster); Tadhg Beirne (Munster), James Ryan (Leinster); Caelan Doris (Leinster), Josh van der Flier (Leinster), Jack Conan (Leinster).
Replacements: Dan Sheehan (Leinster), Cian Healy (Leinster), Finlay Bealham (Connacht), Iain Henderson (Ulster), Peter O'Mahony (Munster), Conor Murray (Munster), Joey Carbery (Munster), Keith Earls (Munster).
JAPAN: Kotaro Matsushima (Clermont Auvergne); Dylan Riley (Saitama Wild Knights), Timothy Lafaele (Kobe Steelers), Ryoto Nakamura (Tokyo Sungoliath), Siosaia Fifita (Hanazono Kintetsu Liners); Yu Tamura (Yokohama Eagles), Yutaka Nagare (Tokyo Sungoliath); Keita Inagaki (Saitama Wild Knights), Atsushi Sakate (Saitama Wild Knights), Jiwon Gu (Kobe Steelers); Jack Cornelsen (Saitama Wild Knights), James Moore (Tokyo Bay Urayasu); Ben Gunter (Saitama Wild Knights), Pieter Labuschagne (Kubota Spears, capt), Kazuki Himeno (Toyota Verblitz).
Replacements: Yusuke Niwai (Yokohama Eagles), Craig Millar (Saitama Wild Knights), Asaeli Ai Valu (Saitama Wild Knights), Yoshitaka Tokunaga (Toshiba Brave Lupus), Tevita Tatafu (Tokyo Sungoliath), Naoto Saito (Tokyo Sungoliath), Rikiya Matsuda (Saitama Wild Knights), Ryohei Yamanaka (Kobe Steelers).
