Ireland trio Ryan Baird, Jamison Gibson-Park and Robbie Henshaw will make their first starts of this year’s Guinness Six Nations in Saturday’s crunch Grand Slam decider against England.
Lock Baird and centre Henshaw replace injured pair Iain Henderson and Garry Ringrose following last week’s bruising 22-7 round-four win away to Scotland.
Scrum-half Gibson-Park came off the bench in Edinburgh and has been preferred to Conor Murray in the only unenforced alteration to Andy Farrell’s starting XV.
Hooker Dan Sheehan and number eight Caelan Doris have been passed fit following their premature withdrawals amid the Murrayfield mayhem.
But back-up number two Ronan Kelleher, who suffered a recurrence of a shoulder issue against the Scots, has joined Henderson (arm) and Ringrose (head) in being ruled out.
Rob Herring, second-row Kieran Treadwell and versatile back Jimmy O’Brien have been added to the bench.
Ireland will complete their fourth championship clean sweep with victory over an England side thumped 53-10 by France last weekend.
Fly-half Johnny Sexton will captain the hosts in Dublin as he seeks to celebrate his 60th and final Six Nations outing before retirement by lifting silverware, partnering the recalled Gibson-Park.
Baird, making only his second start in the championship, will line up alongside James Ryan in the second row, behind an unchanged front row of Andrew Porter, Sheehan and Tadhg Furlong.
Reigning world player of the year Josh Van Der Flier will win his 50th Ireland cap, joining fellow flanker Peter O’Mahony and the fit-again Doris in the back row.
Bundee Aki and Henshaw, who missed the start of the competition with a wrist injury, are the midfield pairing, with James Lowe, Hugo Keenan and Mack Hansen continuing as head coach Farrell’s back three.
Cian Healy, Tom O’Toole, Jack Conan and Ross Byrne complete the list of replacements.
Andy Farrell hopes to coax his grandchildren into supporting Ireland when he goes head to head against son Owen Farrell in tomorrow’s clash.
Farrell junior has been restored to the visitors’ starting XV for the Dublin clash after being dropped to the bench ahead of last weekend’s 53-10 humiliation at the hands of France.
The father and son are well-versed in being in rival camps but their relationship adds an intriguing sub-plot to the St Patrick’s weekend showdown as the hosts seek to clinch a Guinness Six Nations clean sweep.
Ireland head coach Farrell admits some subjects have been off limits during recent conversations with England’s skipper as he joked about converting Owen’s young sons Tommy and Freddie into Irish fans.
“We don’t ask questions that put the other person in too much of a predicament,” he said of chats with Owen.
“I know that he (Owen) is travelling over today, he’s not staying too far from our house actually.
“The grandkids are coming over today as well, so we’ll be trying to poach them into our captain’s run tomorrow and see if we can squeeze them to cheer for Ireland. We’ll see how that goes.”
Owen Farrell has been selected at fly-half by Steve Borthwick on the back of last weekend’s record-breaking embarrassment against Les Bleus.
The 31-year-old Saracens player said in January that elder son Tommy had been warned about wearing a green jersey.
“I asked him why he has got one,” he said. “He said, ‘it’s grandad’s team’, and I said ‘well, you can wear a suit like grandad does, then, not the kit’.”
Speaking about Tommy’s Ireland shirt, Andy added: “I’ve told him to bring it, yeah, so we’ll see what he wears on Saturday.”
Ireland are bidding to clinch a first Grand Slam in Dublin and a fourth overall, having done so in Belfast in 1948, Cardiff in 2009 and London in 2018.
Boss Farrell says it would be “stupid” to treat the occasion like any other game but has urged his side to focus on producing a strong performance rather than securing silverware at a sold-out Aviva Stadium as they bid to inspire the Irish population.
“People think we’re chasing a trophy; we’re not, we’re chasing being the best version of ourselves when it matters most,” he said.
“We all know it matters, but performing under that type of pressure is the next step for us.
“It’s not any other game. We’d be stupid to think that, it’s another challenge for us, being at our best. The trophy’s not a factor, it’s us performing that matters the most.”
TEAMS
Ireland: Keenan; Hansen, Henshaw, Aki, Lowe; Sexton (c), Gibson-Park; Porter, Sheehan, Furlong; Baird, Ryan; O’Mahony, Van der Flier, Doris.
Replacements: Herring, Healy, O’Toole, Treadwell, Conan, Murray, R Byrne, O’Brien.
England: Steward; Watson, Slade, Tuilagi, Arundell; Farrell (c), Van Poortvliet; Genge, George, Sinckler, Itoje, Ribbans, Ludlam, Willis, Dombrandt
Replacements: Walker, M Vunipola, Cole, Isiekwe, B Curry, Mitchell, Smith, Marchant
