Team-announcement day on a wet and dreary winter’s morning in Paris seemed only to further dampen Irish expectations ahead of Thursday’s opening night in the Six Nations. It’s hard to recall when Ireland last went into the tournament as 6-1 third favourites or 9-2 underdogs for one match, but this is the apparent lay of the land.
Irish rugby appears to be undergoing something of a fallow period, however deep or long. As is more likely to happen with smaller rugby nations, a heavy injury toll has also exposed the relative shallowness of Ireland’s playing pool.
This is the hand Andy Farrell has been dealt and thus, the best hand he can play against France, the holders and favourites, in the Stade de France on Thursday night (kick-off 9.10pm local/8.10pm Irish). True, Farrell can still call upon a dozen of the 18 Irish Lions he brought to Australia last summer, with five effectively ruled out by injury and another through suspension.
Even so, the three props atop the loosehead pecking order are sidelined, as is the first-choice tighthead, a plethora of hybrid locks/flankers, two stalwart centres and the first two fullbacks. Hence, only five starters are in the run-on XV from the win in Marseille two years ago as Farrell makes eight changes, largely enforced, from the starting team last time out against South Africa.
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Nor were there any tub-thumping rallying calls from the head coach, more an acknowledgment of this reality. Having been considered one of the two teams to beat in the last four years of the Six Nations, Farrell was asked if he felt there was a change in Ireland’s status entering this championship.
“Only because you’re asking me the question, but not really. Not really,” he countered. “As far as the journey of any type of squad, there’s always different reasons why things are happening, with injuries or form or retirement or whatever.
“We’re at where we’re at and for me, that’s exciting. That’s what you need to grab hold of and run with and see what we can certainly do, not just in the near future – how this type of experience will stand to us. Hopefully this experience will stand to us in the here and now as well. That’s the aim.”
In the absence of Andrew Porter, Paddy McCarthy and Jack Boyle at loosehead, Jeremy Loughman starts, with Michael Milne on the bench. The Munster scrum held up well in Toulon and Loughman has five caps, but his only previous start was against Fiji in November, 2022. Milne’s only previous caps were as a replacement against Georgia and Portugal in July.
Farrell has opted to reunite Joe McCarthy (who was badly missed in November) and Tadhg Beirne, with James Ryan and Jack Conan on the bench, as was the case in Marseille. It combines to accommodate the inclusion of Cian Prendergast at blindside.
On a proud day for their family and friends, the Prendergast brothers will be starting together in an Irish team for the first time.
France vs Ireland - Six Nations preview
The 6-2 bench of that night in Marseille is also repeated, with Nick Timoney in place of Ryan Baird. It looks designed to enhance the Irish pack aerially and provide more mobility, while matching the oomph of France’s 6-2 configuration.
Then again, this also made best use of the squad’s current resources.
“I suppose it’s what you’ve got available and the strength that you’ve got within the squad to come off the bench,” said Farrell in explaining a rare case of picking half a dozen forwards as replacements. “The bench is super-important, isn’t it, as the game goes on? The experienced guys coming on, James Ryan and Jack Conan, and Nick Timoney being one of those guys who has been waiting for a chance as well, is pretty important because they tend to come on when the game is at its crescendo and you need that type of experience.”
Nor did Farrell have the option of the suspended Bundee Aki or sidelined Robbie Henshaw at 23, which he has employed previously. “I spoke to Bundee and he’s certainly sorry for what happened,” said Farrell. “He’s apologised to the right people. He’ll be working hard at home. If needed, he’ll certainly be available for us down the track.”
In all, there are seven changes to the starting line-up from last November’s loss to the All Blacks. Farrell turns to Jamie Osborne now that Hugo Keenan has joined Mack Hansen on the casualty list, while Stuart McCloskey is recalled. James Lowe’s lack of recent game time opens the door for Jacob Stockdale for his first Six Nations game since facing England in March, 2021.
Loughman, Thomas Clarkson, McCarthy and Cian Prendergast all come into the pack and it’s worth noting that the Connacht captain, along with Loughman, Milne and Timoney, will all be making their Six Nations debuts.
Ireland can also take heart from going to Paris four years ago without the injured Johnny Sexton and subsequently pushing France to the wire in a narrow defeat. That was the evening Hansen gathered Joey Carbery’s restart on the full for his first Test try.
“Yeah, it’s being fearless, isn’t it?” said Farrell when reminded of that match, which finished 30-24. “It’s making sure that we’re not playing any occasion here, it’s making sure that we’re present in everything we do and executing the plan that we’re all buying into doing.
“I’m sure if we do that, there’ll be ups and downs, I’m sure of that against a world-class side . . . but it’s an exciting game for us going forward, because we’ll certainly learn a lot about ourselves, testing ourselves in big occasions like this. That’ll stand to us.”
IRELAND (v France): Jamie Osborne (Leinster); Tommy O’Brien (Leinster), Garry Ringrose (Leinster), Stuart McCloskey (Ulster), Jacob Stockdale (Ulster); Sam Prendergast (Leinster), Jamison Gibson-Park (Leinster); Jeremy Loughman (Munster), Dan Sheehan (Leinster), Thomas Clarkson (Leinster); Joe McCarthy (Leinster), Tadhg Beirne (Munster); Cian Prendergast (Connacht), Josh van der Flier (Leinster), Caelan Doris (Leinster, capt).
Replacements: Rónan Kelleher (Leinster), Michael Milne (Munster), Finlay Bealham (Connacht), James Ryan (Leinster), Jack Conan (Leinster), Nick Timoney (Ulster), Craig Casey (Munster), Jack Crowley (Munster).
