Six Nations: Ireland v Italy
Kick-off: 3pm, Sunday. Venue: Aviva Stadium. How to follow: The Irish Times liveblog will begin at 2.30pm. On TV: Live on Virgin Media One.
Andy Farrell has made six changes to the Ireland starting XV for Sunday’s round three 2022 Guinness Six Nations game against Italy, with Ulster fullback Michael Lowry named to make his debut while Dan Sheehan and Ryan Baird are also selected for their first starts in the Championship.
Peter O’Mahony, as captain, James Lowe and Robbie Henshaw also return to the starting lineup, with Joey Carbery retained at outhalf as Johnny Sexton is named on the bench. There are also a couple of positional switches, with Caelan Doris moving from blindside to number 8 and Mack Hansen switching from the left to the right wing.
Jack Conan moves to the bench, where in addition to Sexton, Rob Herring, David Kilcoyne, Kieran Treadwell, Craig Casey and James Hume are all called up to a much-changed matchday squad.
Five of the starting XV in Ireland’s defeat by France in Paris a fortnight ago drop out of the squad, namely Hugo Keenan, Andrew Conway, Bundee Aki, Ronan Kelleher and James Ryan. While Kelleher had already been ruled out of the rest of the Championship with the shoulder injury he sustained in the first half in the Stade de France, it transpires that Ryan took a knock in training, and has an adductor issue.
In addition to Iain Henderson, who tested positive for Covid-19 earlier this week, Cian Healy, Conor Murray and Jack Carty also miss out on the matchday 23.
The Ireland head coach and his assistants are thus using this game as an opportunity to increase not only the investment in Carbery by affording him the opportunity to back up his composed first Six Nations start in Paris, but also to look at their options at fullback.
Keenan had started 18 successive Tests since making his debut in the corresponding fixture against Italy two seasons ago, which was re-arranged for October 2020 at an empty Aviva. All but two of those 18 starts were at fullback, the exceptions being the Autumn Nations Cup games against Georgia and Scotland, when Jacob Stockdale - sidelined for the season - wore 15.
The 23-year-old Lowry, 5ft 7in (1.7m) and 12st 4lb (79kg), has been in electric form for Ulster this season, scoring three tries in four Heineken Champions Cup games. Blessed with pace and blindingly quick feet, his capacity for beating the first tackle, and more, is evidenced by his statistics in those four Euro games - eight clean breaks, 23 defenders beaten and 562 metres made.
Lowry attended Royal Belfast Academical Institution, where he captained the team to a Medallion Shield and three Ulster Schools Cup titles as an outhalf, before coming through the Ulster academy and playing for the Irish under-20s. Hence he also brings a good kicking and passing game as well as operating as a second playmaker for Ulster.
After his favourable impression in Paris as a 25th minute replacement for the unfortunate Kelleher, the 23-year-old Sheehan looks made for Test match rugby and was always expected to start.
Baird has slipped down the pecking order a little at Leinster, behind Ryan and Ross Molony (a late call-up to the squad this week after Henderson’s withdrawal), but Farrell and Paul O’Connell have retained faith in the 22-year-old St Michael’s College product, who wins his eighth cap and makes his second start, after his full debut last June against the USA.
The 26-year-old Treadwell hadn’t featured in a Farrell squad until this Six Nations, his three previous caps having been earned under Joe Schmidt in 2017 against Japan (twice) and Fiji.
Hailing from Sutton in South London, and a product of the Harlequins academy, Treadwell’s mother is Irish and he played for the Ireland under-18s before representing the English under-20s. Since joining Ulster in 2016, Treadwell has played 119 times for the province and at 6’ 6½” is an athletic, explosive and quick lock, whose set-piece work has developed well in the last year. He can also scrum on the tighthead side.
Opportunities
Explaining Carbery’s selection, Farrell said: “Joey stepped in very late last week in that Johnny got injured on the last training day of the week. He obviously didn’t get a full week to prepare, to run the side, he gets that opportunity this week on the back of a good performance.
“After analsying the performance Joey would admit to you himself that he would love the opportunity to put a few things right and add to that performance and add to that experience at this level so it just makes sense. And the person who agrees with that is Johnny and he’s the captain of the side. He wants what’s best for the team.”
Regarding Lowry’s selection, the Irish head coach said: “We’re all excited to see him get his chance. He deserves it. He came into camp first and foremost over the summer as a stand-in and he performed very well in training under pressure then and since and you can see it has whetted his appetite.
“You can see it in his performances for Ulster but more importantly we have seen it under pressure here in camp which is sometimes far and away the most extreme pressure that the lads can be put under. Lads like Mikey deserve the chance because they have shown everyone they are ready.”
While this selection appears to have one eye on further developing Ireland’s depth chart, Farrell maintained: “Yes and no. This is a full-blown Test match and we expect ourselves to be at our best and that’s the responsibility of the group that is selected. The lads selected have earned the right. James Lowe has come back in and was up to speed straight away. He fitted in and started to add to how we want to play the game. That was evident from the first session.
“Mack Hansen and Craig Casey have done that, Ryan Baird and Michael Lowry have done that. So that’s the kind of pressure I tend to put them under. These guys deserve a chance by showing the rest of the group that they are ready and we expect a performance as well.”
It has been a notably sad week for the sport, with the passing of the former All Blacks and dual Samoan international Inga Tuigamala at the age of 52 and the former All Black and Auckland Blues winger Joeli Vidiri at the age of 48 within 24 hours of each other.
Tuigamala was a trailblazer, who switched to rugby league in 1991 before reverting to Union, and Farrell was clearly emotional when paying tribute to his former teammate in the illustrious Wigan team of the 1990s.
“Yeah, you have got me there because he is a tremendous fellah. I mean I was very lucky to be able to spend some time with him. You know when you meet some people and they just touch you straight away from the off. That was Inga. His smile, his generosity, just being around him as a person was outstanding. He touched everyone. He was very giving with his knowledge.
“I’m talking about him as a person here. How he was as a family man, a husband, a father. The amount of people that came over to see him when he was at Wigan, not just family but friends, just shows what he means to people. When he left Wigan we were all gutted because he added so much to the group, so that is him as a person and that is what we will miss first and foremost because from a rugby fans point of view, he was awesome.
"I was in awe of him, of his skill. I was young when I met him. He came over to rugby league and it was daunting for him because Inga had obviously played rugby union on the wing and he wouldn’t have been used to being thrown into the professional game.
“I remember him being thrown into a game in the centre against the legend that is Mal Meninga and what a tussle that was. He adapted unbelievably well because of his skill set. He had unbelievably feet for such a big, dynamic, powerful beast of a man. I can’t say enough about him. I was on the training field yesterday, and the news came up on my watch. I couldn’t believe it. I actually couldn’t believe it.
“I needed to take a minute to myself so my prayers and thoughts are obviously with his nearest and dearest. This is very sad news for everyone.”
Ireland: Michael Lowry (Ulster/Banbridge); Mack Hansen (Connacht), Garry Ringrose (Leinster/UCD), Robbie Henshaw (Leinster/Buccaneers), James Lowe (Leinster); Joey Carbery (Munster/Clontarf), Jamison Gibson Park (Leinster); Andrew Porter (Leinster/UCD), Dan Sheehan (Leinster/Lansdowne), Tadhg Furlong (Leinster/Clontarf), Tadhg Beirne (Munster/Lansdowne), Ryan Baird (Leinster/ Dublin University), Peter O'Mahony (Munster/Cork Constitution, capt), Josh van der Flier (Leinster/St Mary's College), Caelan Doris (Leinster/St Mary's College).
Replacements: Rob Herring (Ulster/Ballynahinch), David Kilcoyne (Munster/UL Bohemians), Finlay Bealham (Connacht/Buccaneers), Kieran Treadwell (Ulster/Ballymena), Jack Conan (Leinster/Old Belvedere), Craig Casey (Munster/Shannon), Johnny Sexton (Leinster/St Mary's College), James Hume (Ulster/Banbridge).
