Ireland name team to face Wales

Andy Farrell has made two changes to his Ireland XV for next Saturday’s round two Guinness Six Nations clash versus Wales in Dublin.

Joe Schmidt’s successor saw his reign get off to an unconvincing round one win over Scotland at the Aviva Stadium, but the only two changes to his starting side are forced by injury.

Peter O’Mahony, who stepped off the bench for the concussed Caelan Doris after just five minutes, has been promoted to start as has fellow replacement Robbie Henshaw, who was a half-time substitution for the injured Garry Ringrose.

The other 13 starters remain in situ, including scrum-half Conor Murray despite many fans calling for John Cooney to start in his place.

Promoted duo Henshaw and O’Mahony are respectively replaced on the bench by Keith Earls and the uncapped Max Deegan, with the other six subs the same as last weekend – including Dave Kilcoyne who is still following return to play protocols following his concussion.

(Continue reading below…)

Andy Farrell and Johnny Sexton speak with the media following Ireland’s 19-12 win over Scotland in Dublin

IRELAND (vs Wales)
15. Jordan Larmour (St Mary’s College/Leinster) 22 caps
14. Andrew Conway (Garryowen/Munster) 19 caps
13. Robbie Henshaw (Buccaneers/Leinster) 41 caps
12. Bundee Aki (Galwegians/Connacht) 24 caps
11. Jacob Stockdale (Lurgan/Ulster) 26 caps
10. Jonathan Sexton (St Marys College/Leinster) 89 caps Captain
9. Conor Murray (Garryowen/Munster) 79 caps
1. Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster) 96 caps
2. Rob Herring (Ballynahinch/Ulster) 9 caps
3. Tadhg Furlong (Clontarf/Leinster) 42 caps
4. Iain Henderson (Queens University/Ulster) 54 caps
5. James Ryan (UCD/Leinster) 24 caps
6. Peter O’Mahony (Cork Constitution/Munster) 65 caps
7. Josh van der Flier (UCD/Leinster) 24 caps
8. CJ Stander (Shannon/Munster) 39 caps

Scotland's starting 8 made 133m off 59 runs at the Aviva compared to just 44m off 64 runs in the previous encounter, a ball-carrying threat that caused the overall Irish tackle rate to soar.

– @heagneyl on Farrell's first game in charge #SixNations ?????????https://t.co/cDtIpCsWbL

— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 2, 2020

Replacements:
16. Ronan Kelleher (Lansdowne/Leinster) 1 cap
17. Dave Kilcoyne (UL Bohemians/Munster) 37 caps
18. Andrew Porter (UCD/Leinster) 24 caps
19. Devin Toner (Lansdowne/Leinster) 68 caps
20. Max Deegan (Lansdowne/Leinster) 0 caps
21. John Cooney (Terenure College/Ulster) 9 caps
22. Ross Byrne (UCD/Leinster) 4 caps
23. Keith Earls (Young Munster/Munster) 82 caps

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