James Lowe to make Ireland debut against Wales
Ireland’s coaching team have named their squad for their first game of the Autumn Nations Cup as they welcome Wales to the Aviva Stadium on Friday night.
There are two uncapped players in the matchday 23. Leinster wing James Lowe will make his Ireland debut in an exciting back three that also includes Jacob Stockdale and Hugo Keenan.
Captain Johnny Sexton links up with provincial partner Jamison Gibson-Park, who makes his first start after two caps off the bench, in the half-backs.
Robbie Henshaw switches to inside centre with Chris Farrell coming in at 13.
📄 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗔𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 🟢
Andy Farrell has named his Ireland team to face Wales in Friday's #GuinnessSeries opener at @AVIVAStadium, including a debut for James Lowe 🙌#ShoulderToShoulder #AutumnNationsCup #IREvWAL pic.twitter.com/5GNqYvylLg
— Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) November 10, 2020
In the pack Cian Healy and Andrew Porter are joined by Ronan Kelleher at hooker. Iain Henderson returns to the second-row to partner James Ryan. The back-row sees Caelan Doris switch to number with Peter O’Mahony, winning his 70th cap, at six and Josh van der Flier at seven.
The uncapped Billy Burns will be aiming for his first cap as he named in the replacements alongside Conor Murray and the returning Keith Earls.
The replacement forwards are Dave Heffernan, Ed Byrne, Finlay Bealham, Quinn Roux and Will Connors.
Ireland: 15 Jacob Stockdale, 14 Hugo Keenan, 13 Chris Farrell, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 James Lowe, 10 Jonathan Sexton (c), 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Caelan Doris, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Peter O’Mahony, 5 James Ryan, 4 Iain Henderson, 3 Andrew Porter, 2 Ronan Kelleher, 1 Cian Healy
Replacements: 16 Dave Heffernan, 17 Ed Byrne, 18 Finlay Bealham, 19 Quinn Roux, 20 Will Connors, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Billy Burns, 23 Keith Earls
Date: Friday, November 13
Venue: Aviva Stadium
Kick-off: 19:00 GMT
Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)
Assistant Referees: Pascal Gauzere (France), Alex Ruiz (France)
TMO: Romain Poite (France)
