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Five changes for Ireland but Sam Prendergast retains No10 shirt

Ireland players huddle during last Saturday's Autumn Nations Series win over Fiji (Photo by Ben McShane/Sportsfile via Getty Images)

Andy Farrell has changed five of his Ireland team for Saturday’s Autumn Nations Series finale versus Australia in Dublin, but it is his decision to give Test rookie Sam Prendergast his second consecutive start that will generate headlines.

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The Irish defeated Fiji 52-17 last weekend with a much changed XV following their 22-19 close shave with Argentina. Among those alterations was the awarding of a first start to the 21-year-old Prendergast following on from his international debut off the bench against the Pumas.

The expectation was that Jack Crowley, who had become the first-choice No10 in the wake of Johnny Sexton’s retirement, would be restored to the starting line-up versus the Wallabies, but that hasn’t happened as Prendergast will form the starting half-back partnership with the recalled Jamison Gibson-Park.

Scrum-half Gibson-Park, who takes over from the benched Craig Casey, is one of three changes to the back line for the November finale. Hugo Keenan is named at full-back for the injured Jamie Osborne while Jame Lowe returns to the left wing in place of Jacob Stockdale, another injury casualty from last weekend.

Up front, Ronan Kelleher rotates the hooker position with Gus McCarthy while James Ryan returns for Cormac Izuchukwu, who made his debut versus the Fijians along with McCarthy. Ryan’s return at lock sees Tadhg Beirne switch to blindside, the position that Izuchukwu had.

Team Form

Last 5 Games

4
Wins
2
1
Streak
2
17
Tries Scored
16
18
Points Difference
0
2/5
First Try
3/5
2/5
First Points
4/5
3/5
Race To 10 Points
3/5

On the bench with McCarthy will be the Ireland caps record breaker Cian Healy, Tom O’Toole, Iain Henderson, Peter O’Mahony, Casey, Crowley and Garry Ringrose.

Farrell said in a team announcement statement: “Saturday’s Test match is a significant milestone in the story of Irish rugby. Aside from the 150th celebrations, for Cian it presents the opportunity to break the Test cap record, which is a remarkable achievement considering the robustness of his position. Cian is a giant of Irish rugby and we are determined to provide him with a performance that he deserves.

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“We have seen steady improvements over the last few weeks and the visit of a strong Wallabies presents another challenge for the squad. There has been a collective determination to drive forward and finish the Autumn Nations Series on a high.”

Ireland (vs Australia, Saturday)
15. Hugo Keenan (UCD/Leinster) (41 caps)
14. Mack Hansen (Corinthians/Connacht) (24)
13. Robbie Henshaw (Buccaneers/Leinster) (76)
12. Bundee Aki (Galwegians/Connacht) (59)
11. James Lowe (Leinster) (35)
10. Sam Prendergast (Lansdowne/Leinster) (2)
9. Jamison Gibson-Park (Leinster) (37)
1. Andrew Porter (UCD/Leinster) (69)
2. Rónan Kelleher (Lansdowne/Leinster) (36)
3. Finlay Bealham (Corinthians/Connacht) (45)
4. Joe McCarthy (Dublin University/Leinster) (15)
5. James Ryan (UCD/Leinster) (66)
6. Tadhg Beirne (Lansdowne/Munster) (55)
7. Josh van der Flier (UCD/Leinster) (67)
8. Caelan Doris (St Mary’s College/Leinster) (46) (captain)

Replacements:
16. Gus McCarthy (UCD/Leinster) (1)
17. Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster) (133)
18. Tom O’Toole (Ballynahinch/Ulster) (15)
19. Iain Henderson (Academy/Ulster) (83)
20. Peter O’Mahony (Cork Constitution/Munster) (109)
21. Craig Casey (Shannon/Munster) (17)
22. Jack Crowley (Cork Constitution/Munster) (18)
23. Garry Ringrose (UCD/Leinster) (62)

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T
Tom 43 minutes ago
No definites, but which Wales players could still make Lions squad?

Williams, Faletau, Lake, Morgan are the only ones who have a chance. None of them are guaranteed but I'd imagine they'll pick Williams and Morgan who could get in on merit and will likely be favoured for inclusivity.


Williams is fighting it out with Ben White for 3rd slot behind JGP and Mitchell.

Morgan is up against JVDF, Earl, Curry, Curry, Willis for 4 flanker slots. Morgan is a fantastic player but a huge call to leave any of those boys at home given how much Wales struggled at the breakdown against England. He's by no means solely responsible for that but it will be fresh in the minds of the selectors. Given the amount of hybrid players emerging and the inclination for a 6-2 split, they may be able to find room for a 5th flanker in the squad. In which case may be Ben Curry who misses out or Willis might be excluded given we have such depth in the players who have chosen to play for clubs this side of the channel.


Lake and Faletau are good enough but I'd be surprised if Faletau gets picked over Conan and Lake would be up against Cowan-Dickie which I can't see happening. Blair Murray is probably 4th in the 15 pecking order behind Kinghorn, Heenan, Marcus Smith. He may be a better 15 than Smith but Smith brings versatility so would be ahead of him. Since Smith may go on tour as a 10/15 hybrid, they would already have 3 fullbacks in the squad so Murray won't make it, good player though.


Nicky Smith and Dafydd Jenkins clutching at straws.

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