HAVING WATCHED HIS team deliver their best performance in quite some time at Twickenham two weekends ago, Andy Farrell will be loath to mix things up on the selection front for Friday’s game against Wales.
The matchday 23 Farrell picked for the trip to London did an excellent job and deserve the chance to back their showing up in Dublin.
There will be at least one change forced on Farrell, of course, with left wing James Lowe’s championship over due to the groin injury he suffered in the first half against England.
Tommy O’Brien came off the bench to deliver an excellent try-scoring performance so he is the front-runner to take over in the number 11 shirt, although Ulster’s Jacob Stockdale is another option.
Stockdale started on the left wing in the Six Nations opener against France and he remained with Farrell’s group for their two-day training camp last week despite others being released back to their provinces.
However, O’Brien’s speed, aerial ability, and work-rate off the bench against the English mean he’s the favourite to slot in for Lowe.
It could be that Farrell goes for an unchanged starting side otherwise, as he looks for his team to pick up where they left off.
Outside centre Garry Ringrose was replaced in the second half of the England game, but he has continued to train in the meantime and seems likely to continue his midfield partnership with the in-form Stuart McCloskey.
There may be more scope for mixing things up on the Irish bench, although they too played a notable role in the hammering of England at Twickenham.
Paddy McCarthy watches Ireland training today. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
It will be interesting to see if Farrell reverts to the 6/2 split he used for the first two games against France and Italy, or continues with the 5/3 that proved so important against the English, as O’Brien was required just 20 minutes in.
As expected, Bundee Aki is now back in the selection mix and could even feature off the bench on Friday night if Ireland do go with a 5/3.
Ciarán Frawley showed the value of his versatility by coming on at fullback in London, having also offered out-half cover on the bench, with the equally versatile Jamie Osborne shifting from fullback to outside centre as Ringrose went off.
The uncapped Bryn Ward would obviously love his first shot at Test rugby and has made a positive impression in Ireland camp during this Six Nations period, but including the 21-year-old Ulster man might mean leaving out someone like the in-form Nick Timoney or Cian Prendergast, both of whom came on in Twickenham. That’s before considering the fact that Jack Conan – ruled out at a late stage in London due to illness, meaning Prendergast was promoted to the bench – is back now.
Edwin Edogbo, who got his debut off the bench against Italy, is another man who has made strides behind the scenes with Ireland in this window, but it’s understood that the Irish coaches believe he has more progress to make with things like his conditioning before he becomes a regular feature in Test rugby.
Cormac Izuchukwu is unfortunate to have picked up a head injury during the down week with Ulster, while Leinster out-half Harry Byrne – who might have targeted the Wales game as his best chance of involvement – was similarly unlucky to be forced off just minutes into his province’s defeat to Cardiff on Friday after a blow to the head.
That has reduced the scope for Farrell to shake things up and the Ireland head coach probably feels he has already done lots of that in the first three rounds.
Edogbo won his first cap and six other players made their Six Nations debuts in that opening block. Farrell made six personnel changes after the loss to France, then another five changes following the win over Italy.
That only adds to the sense that he will opt for greater continuity in this final two-week sprint as Ireland look to retain the Triple Crown. Farrell is due to name his matchday 23 on Wednesday afternoon.
He will be most interested in Ireland picking up where they left off in terms of their transition attack, the speed of their decision-making, and the accuracy of their work around the pitch. The scrum needs to improve and while Ireland did some brilliant scrambling in defence last time out, Farrell would probably like it if those moments weren’t necessary.
Rhys Ruddock observing Ireland’s session in Dublin. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
They obviously won’t be involved in this Six Nations, but Farrell maintained his longstanding habit of keeping injured players around the squad by welcoming Mack Hansen into camp again this week, while Paddy McCarthy was also at training today.
Former Ireland and Leinster back row Rhys Ruddock, who is now coaching, was another observer as preparations continued for the clash with the Welsh.
Even before Wales had run Scotland so close two weekends ago, Farrell was insistent that Steve Tandy’s men needed to be respected.
Ireland will spend time looking at the threats of creative, game-breaking scrum-half Tomos Williams, the elusive Louis Rees-Zammit, and the seriously explosive loosehead prop Rhys Carré.
And there were passages of notable quality in that Welsh performance last time out. When they got on a roll and built up to a 20-5 lead with 30 minutes to go, the centre pairing of Joe Hawkins and Eddie Jones brought a blend of distribution and power.
Out-half Sam Costelow – unfortunately ruled out of the Ireland game – directed play intelligently, second rows Dafydd Jenkings and Ben Carter stood out, hooker Dewi Lake was belligerent, and number eight Aaron Wainwright won collisions.
But sadly for them, things started to unravel as Scotland reacted with a blend of desperation and smarts to break Welsh hearts.
So once again, the challenge for Steve Tandy and his assistants has been to build the Welsh players back up from disappointment. They will happily embrace underdog status in Dublin on Friday, with Ireland currently 26-point favourites.
The Irish game against Italy showed how those margins can be off, but Wales will need a proper 80-minute performance this time.
Farrell looks likely to back a settled Ireland team to get the job done.