Ireland resume their Rugby World Cup warm-up schedule following an eight-day warm-weather training camp in Portugal. A number of players, including captain Rory Best, will make their seasonal debuts at Twickenham against a strong England side.
RUGBY WORLD CUP WARM-UP MATCH: Saturday, August 24
ENGLAND v IRELAND, Twickenham, 3pm (live Sky Sports Action/Main Event/RTÉ Radio 1/IRFU Live Blog/highlights BBC Two)
Team News: Best returns to captain the Ireland team to play England at Twickenham this afternoon (kick-off 3pm – live on Sky Sports Action/Main Event), with several players making their first starts of the season.
Ireland’s second World Cup warm-up match sees Best reunited in the front row with Cian Healy, who wins his 90th cap in London, and Tadhg Furlong. Recent debutant Jean Kleyn forms a new second row pairing with Iain Henderson.
There are seasonal bows for back rowers Peter O’Mahony, CJ Stander and Josh van der Flier, who dons the green jersey for the first time since his groin injury against France in March. In all, head coach Joe Schmidt has made twelve personnel changes and one positional switch.
Leinster’s Ross Byrne will make his first international start at out-half, having previously featured off the bench against Italy and the USA during the 2018 GUINNESS Series. The 24-year-old combines at half-back with the returning Conor Murray.
Garry Ringrose, the third player retained from the starting XV against Italy, renews his centre partnership with Bundee Aki from the final round of the Guinness Six Nations, while Rob Kearney and Jacob Stockdale, a try scorer on his last visit to Twickenham, are restored to the back-three alongside Jordan Larmour.
Jack Carty, who took over from the injured Joey Carbery against Italy two weeks ago, is named on the bench along with Luke McGrath and Andrew Conway, the man-of-the-match in the 29-10 victory over the Azzurri.
Sean Cronin is set for his first outing of the season as replacement hooker, with the other forward reserves – Jack McGrath, Andrew Porter, Devin Toner and Tadhg Beirne – having all played during the GUINNESS Summer Series opener earlier this month.
Head coach Joe Schmidt commented: “Ross has trained really well and it’s not his debut, he’s had time with us before so that we’ve got a lot of confidence in him anyway and I think he built his way through the season.
“I thought he was maybe not as impressive as Jack (Carty) early in the season, and I think those two have become really important to us. Joey (Carbery) has done well this week. Johnny (Sexton), he’s fine, but he missed a bit of time with his thumb so he;’s a little bit behind and we know how well he plays for us.
“We don’t feel that he needs a lot of time with the experience that he’s got. So, for us, the guys that need the time are probably Ross and Jack and they’ve got the opportunity to do that this weekend, that they’ll share a bit of time, I’d say, in the middle.”
He added: “Saturday is a Test match against an old foe and they will be up for it. England have had two Test matches already. A lot of our players haven’t played yet. They have a little bit of an advantage there. They have freshened up a bit, they had a couple of days off at the start of the week.
“They are probably a little bit ahead of us in terms of their preparation but, your timing, you want to make sure that you periodise it right so that we are on an upswing by the time we get to that September 22 game (against Scotland).
“So an August 24 game comes a distant second. If we’re carrying a little bit of fatigue in the legs on Saturday, I’ll accept that. We want to be really competitive but if this last eight days (in Portugal) is good preparation for September 22 then that’s what counts most.”
Meanwhile, England head coach Eddie Jones has made nine personnel changes for their final home match before the World Cup. Scrum half Ben Youngs and captain Owen Farrell and Manu Tuilagi, who combine in the centre, will start their first game of the warm-up fixtures.
Jonny May makes his seasonal debut on the left wing with Bath’s Joe Cokanasiga switching to the right. Joe Marler, Jamie George and Kyle Sinckler resume in the front row, having been on the bench against Wales.
George Kruis slots in alongside his Saracens club-mate Maro Itoje in the second row, with Tom Curry and Sam Underhill back from injury in the loose forwards. They also welcome back prop Mako Vunipola to the matchday squad following his hamstring surgery.
“The players have come back in a very good physical and mental state and we have had a good preparation this week,” said Jones. “We purposefully made the week short looking ahead to the World Cup where this might happen beyond our control.
“It is the third of four games for us and come the eighth of September, when we get on the plane to Japan, we want to be ready to go. This is another step forward for us.
“This weekend we will be looking to gain more game fitness and testing different sorts of game strategies. We have a specific way of how we want to play and the focus is very much on ourselves.”
On the home support this weekend, he added: “We have been so appreciative of the support we have had at Twickenham this year and this is our last match there before the tournament, so we look forward to playing well in front of our fans.”
ENGLAND: Elliot Daly (Saracens); Joe Cokanasiga (Bath), Manu Tuilagi (Leicester Tigers), Owen Farrell (Saracens) (capt), Jonny May (Leicester Tigers); George Ford (Leicester Tigers), Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers); Joe Marler (Harlequins), Jamie George (Saracens), Kyle Sinckler (Harlequins), Maro Itoje (Saracens), George Kruis (Saracens), Tom Curry (Sale Sharks), Sam Underhill (Bath), Billy Vunipola (Saracens).
Replacements: Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs), Mako Vunipola (Saracens), Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers), Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints), Mark Wilson (Newcastle Falcons/Sale Sharks), Willi Heinz (Gloucester), Piers Francis (Northampton Saints), Jonathan Joseph (Bath).
IRELAND: Rob Kearney (UCD/Leinster); Jordan Larmour (St. Mary’s College/Leinster), Garry Ringrose (UCD/Leinster), Bundee Aki (Galwegians/Connacht), Jacob Stockdale (Lurgan/Ulster); Ross Byrne (UCD/Leinster), Conor Murray (Garryowen/Munster); Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster), Rory Best (Banbridge/Ulster), Tadhg Furlong (Clontarf/Leinster), Iain Henderson (Queen’s University/Ulster), Jean Kleyn (Munster), Peter O’Mahony (Cork Constitution/Munster), Josh van der Flier (UCD/Leinster), CJ Stander (Shannon/Munster).
Replacements: Sean Cronin (St. Mary’s College/Leinster), Jack McGrath (St. Mary’s College/Ulster), Andrew Porter (UCD/Leinster), Devin Toner (Lansdowne/Leinster), Tadhg Beirne (Lansdowne/Munster), Luke McGrath (UCD/Leinster), Jack Carty (Buccaneers/Connacht), Andrew Conway (Garryowen/Munster).
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant Referees: Jérôme Garcès, Alex Ruiz (both France)
Television Match Official: Philippe Bonhoure (France)
Match Odds (Paddy Power): England to win: 1/3; Draw: 25/1; Ireland to win: 5/2
Pre-Match Quotes: Rory Best (Ireland) –
There’s no point in hiding from the fact that England came to Dublin and right from the first exchanges they sorta dominated areas in areas where we take a lot of pride in how good we are. We got bullied a little bit.
“That’s probably the big area for us to be better. Obviously, the circumstances will be slightly different – a World Cup warm-up versus the first game of the Six Nations. For us, it’s about making sure those opening exchanges don’t get away from us, as they have in two of the Six Nations games.
“The World Cup is going to be a big ask and no matter, everyone that’s going to the World Cup has started off this season with an international and that’s the way it is. Obviously England at Twickenham is a tough ask but at the same time you see a lot about players in these circumstances.
“I believe it’s going to be quite hot on Saturday but we’ve been used to it here (in Portugal) for the last few days so it is what it is. You can look at it and be afraid of it or look on it as a challenge. And this is a squad of players that try to get the most out of every opportunity. It’s going to be a big one.”
Pre-Match Links –
Head-To-Head: Ireland v England
Twickenham Is A Great Place To Show What You’re Made Of – Best
In Pics: Sun Shines On Twickenham For Captain’s Run
Irish Rugby TV: Ireland v England Team Announcement Press Conference
Irish Rugby TV: Larmour Looking Forward To Twickenham Test
Limited Tickets Available For Ireland v Wales
Recent Meetings –
2017: RBS 6 Nations: Ireland 13 England 9, Aviva Stadium
2018: NatWest 6 Nations: England 15 Ireland 24, Twickenham
2019: Guinness Six Nations: Ireland 20 England 32, Aviva Stadium
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