A power game?
It seems Ireland have forever been questioned on their physicality. Traditionally against England, more recently France, and eternally South Africa. If the World Cup goes someway to script, there is a decent chance we meet the latter two, if not all three.
Those unfamiliar with Leinster lock Joe McCarthy won't be long becoming accustomed to a man who weights in at a tidy 120kg. Ryan Baird, standing at almost exactly two metres and who has recorded lighnting speeds of 10m/s, slots into the backrow.
We're told Ireland don't produce athletes. It seems we do now.
Ireland have developed a game plan where their forwards have the ball skills to play around defences as well as through them. Rob Herring at hooker is a world class operator at the maul, while Dave Kilcoyne and Tom O'Toole get a chance to show their abrasiveness alongside him.
It will be interesting to see the variation in Ireland's game plan with such a heavy pack selected.
Can van der Flier be replaced?
The absence of 2022 World Rugby Player of the Year Josh van der Flier is no major surprise. Ireland's lack of depth at seven has yet to really be exposed due to the Wicklow man's ever presence.
Peter O'Mahony is widely accepted to be the man that would fill van der Flier's boots should he ever be missing, but intriguingly Andy Farrell has opted for Caelan Doris at openside. The Ballina man is a more recognised option at six or eight, and the likes of Cian Prendergast and Nick Timoney now look unlikely to make the final cut.
It is an opportunity for regular impact sub Jack Conan to stake a claim for a start, but the Leinster man is unlikely to shuffle the tried and tested axis of O'Mahony- van der Flier- Doris.
Who is Johnny Sexton's back-up?
Jack Crowley has gone from one for the future to the heir to Johnny Sexton's throne in a very short space of time. His iconic drop-goal to beat Leinster, coupled with a Ronan O'Gara-esque finger wag, cemented his place in Munster folklore, but this is a different dimension now.
The fact Farrell has opted for Craig Casey at scrum-half suggests it will be Leinster's Jamison Gibson-Park and Crowley's rival Ross Byrne who will start the England match. Gibson-Park essentially has the nine shirt nailed down. At 10, it looks a case of may the best man win right now.
Johnny Sexton is waiting in the wings, and these types of chances don't come around often for Crowley, who earns just his fourth cap.
Has Stockdale still got it?
For a while, Jacob Stockdale was untouchable. A try against England to break the single-campaign Six Nations try-scoring record (seven tries in five games) capped off a Grand Slam winning campaign. From there it continued. It wasn't just hot form, Stockdale is the sixth highest try scorer in Irish history.
In January 2020, he was out of the Irish squad, and on a year-long try scoring drought for Ulster. Question marks around his defence were followed by an array of injuries, and some genuine misfortune.
Now at 27, he has got an opportunity to re-establish himself on the world stage. Stockdale arguably has the kicking game to rival James Lowe, but that won't be enough.
Has his longstanding absence seen him fall behind tactically? Is his defence up to scratch? Can he play at first receiver as Lowe and Mack Hansen so often do?
Saturday will provide some answers that will cause a headache, or make life easy for the Ireland management as the seek to narrow down a 42-man squad to 33.
Can debutants be potential bolters?
Given the longstanding inclusion of Ciaran Frawley in Irish squads of various kinds, it's mind boggling the utility back remains without a cap to his name. That is almost certain to change this weekend.
It remains unclear where Farrell wants the Leinster man. He only started five games for his province last season, with just one of those at out-half, the same position he covered during Ireland's midweek games in New Zealand last year.
And yet, if Ireland ever decide to deploy a six-two split on the bench, Frawley is the best option at 23. It would be strange for him not to make the cut at this stage.
Fellow uncapped replacement Calvin Nash is an unlikely but all the while possible 23 option himself off the back of a superb URC winning campaign with Munster, while Ulster hooker Tom Stewart has a superb try scoring record and will offer real dynamism should he come off the bench for a first cap.
