Following the Ireland squad’s training session this afternoon, the replacements for the matchday squad of 22 to play Samoa on Saturday have been confirmed.
Rory Best, Cian Healy, Stephen Ferris and Jonathan Sexton, who all started against South Africa last Saturday, haved been included among the replacements for the second match of the 2010 GUINNESS Series.
Donnacha Ryan, a second half replacement against the Springboks, will cover the second row positions, while backs Isaac Boss and Keith Earls will also hope to make an impact off the bench.
Looking forward to the game, team captain Brian O’Driscoll said: “We don’t have a huge amount of footage on Samoa but we do know some of their personnel, particularly the guys playing in England.
“The one thing you get with Pacific Islands teams is huge physicality. Their players are capable of putting a hole in you if you run directly at them.
“That being said, you must be aware of the shooters that can come out of their defence on occasion.
“Sometimes you have to play smarter, if their line speed is huge then play the ball behind them. But at the same time we shouldn’t be afraid to play if the conditions allow us to.”
Meanwhile, Samoa will have to alter their replacements bench for Saturday’s clash. Their reserve hooker Ti’i Paulo has been cited for two incidents of foul play by the independent Six Nations Citing Commissioner Aurwel Morgan (Wales) following the match between Connacht and Samoa in Galway last Tuesday.
Under the disciplinary rules in force, the player is ineligible to play until a hearing has been held. The hearing is not expected to take place until Monday or Tuesday of next week.
Paulo started against Connacht but was sin-binned midway through the second half for a high tackle on the westerners’ scrum half Cillian Willis.
Tickets for Saturday’s Ireland v Samoa match are still available for purchase as single tickets here, up until Friday, or from the IRFU offices at 10-12, Lansdowne Road on the day of the game right up until kick off at 2.30pm.
Tickets are priced at €;50 for adults and €;20 for school children.
IRELAND Team & Replacements (v Samoa, 2010 GUINNESS Series, Aviva Stadium, Saturday, November 13, kick-off 2.30pm):
15 – Luke Fitzgerald (Blackrock College/Leinster)
14 – Tommy Bowe (Ospreys)
13 – Brian O’Driscoll (UCD/Leinster) (capt)
12 – Paddy Wallace (Ballymena/Ulster)
11 – Andrew Trimble (Ballymena/Ulster)
10 – Ronan O’Gara (Cork Constitution/Munster)
9 – Peter Stringer (Shannon/Munster)
1 – Tom Court (Malone/Ulster)
2 – Sean Cronin (Buccaneers/Connacht)
3 – John Hayes (Bruff/Munster)
4 – Donncha O’Callaghan (Cork Constitution/Munster)
5 – Devin Toner (Lansdowne/Leinster) *
6 – Denis Leamy (Cork Constitution/Munster)
7 – Sean O’Brien (Clontarf/Leinster)
8 – Jamie Heaslip (Naas/Leinster)
Replacements:
16 – Rory Best (Banbridge/Ulster)
17 – Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster)
18 – Donnacha Ryan (Shannon/Munster)
19 – Stephen Ferris (Dungannon/Ulster)
20 – Isaac Boss (Terenure College/Leinster)
21 – Jonathan Sexton (St. Mary’s College/Leinster)
22 – Keith Earls (Thomond/Munster)
* Denotes uncapped player
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