Ireland head coach Andy Farrell has made wholesale changes to his 23-man squad to face the Wallabies, with British and Irish Lion Mack Hansen the headline call.
Farrell’s men will be looking to properly kick-start their November campaign this weekend, following a tough loss against the All Blacks in Chicago, before an underwhelming win over Japan last time out.
Ireland make mass changes as Mack Hansen returns
Hansen returns to make his first Ireland start since the Six Nations, replacing Jamie Osborne at full-back, while James Lowe also comes into the back-three in place of Jacob Stockdale. Tommy O’Brien completes the unit, keeping his spot on the right wing.
There is also a fresh midfield partnership, with Robbie Henshaw and Stuart McCloskey named at 13 and 12 respectively, while Sam Prendergast gets the nod over Jack Crowley at fly-half. Jamison Gibson-Park rounds off the starting backline.
Jack Conan comes back into the starting pack, slotting in at number eight. His inclusion sees skipper Caelan Doris move over to openside flanker, while Ryan Baird continues at six.
Tadhg Beirne and James Ryan again get the nod in the second-row, while Tadhg Furlong, Dan Sheehan and Paddy McCarthy form the front-row. This is also McCarthy’s first senior start for Ireland, after two appearances off the bench this November.
Ronan Kelleher, Andrew Porter, Thomas Clarkson, Nick Timoney, Cian Prendergast, Craig Casey, Crowley and Bundee Aki form the replacements bench this weekend.
Commenting on his selection, Farrell said: “There’s great respect and familiarity between Ireland and Australia and Saturday is the latest renewal in a series of matches which have been pretty evenly balanced over the last number of years.
“There has been a good buzz around training this week and the players are excited about the challenge that awaits.
“For us it’s about putting in an 80-plus minute performance and to try and implement our gameplan in front of what we know will be a vocal home support.”
Ireland team to face Australia in full
Ireland: 15 Mack Hansen, 14 Tommy O’Brien, 13 Robbie Henshaw, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 James Lowe, 10 Sam Prendergast, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Jack Conan, 7 Caelan Doris (c), 6 Ryan Baird, 5 Tadhg Beirne, 4 James Ryan, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Dan Sheehan, 1 Paddy McCarthy
Replacements: 16 Rónan Kelleher, 17 Andrew Porter, 18 Thomas Clarkson, 19 Nick Timoney, 20 Cian Prendergast, 21 Craig Casey, 22 Jack Crowley, 23 Bundee Aki
Date: Saturday, November 15
Venue: Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Kick-off: 20:10 GMT (07:10 AEDT, 22:10 SAST)
Referee: Karl Dickson (RFU)
Assistant Referees: Pierre Brousset (FFR), Adam Leal (RFU)
TMO: Ian Tempest (RFU)
FPRO: Dan Jones (RFU)