Ireland change 13 for Georgia

Editor

Ireland coach Joe Schmidt has made 13 changes to his starting line-up for Sunday’s clash with Georgia in Dublin.

Ireland coach Joe Schmidt has made 13 changes to his starting line-up for Sunday’s clash with Georgia in Dublin.

Left wing Simon Zebo and tighthead prop Mike Ross are the only survivors from the run-on side that beat South Africa last weekend.

Leinster’s Dominic Ryan and Munster second-row Dave Foley are set to make their first international appearances. Robin Copeland could also win his first cap off the bench.

Eoin Reddan will become the 103rd captain of Ireland when he leads the team out on his 57th cap.

An all action back-three features Felix Jones, Zebo and Craig Gilroy with Gordon D’Arcy and Darren Cave partnered in midfield.

Ian Madigan is selected at fly-half to play alongside his provincial club partner Reddan.

In the pack, Ross is joined in the front row by Richardt Strauss and Dave Kilcoyne.

The second row is made up of debutante Foley and Mike McCarthy while the back row sees new cap Ryan at six Tommy O’Donnell at seven and Robbie Diack at number eight.

There is experience on the bench in the form of Devin Toner and Sean Cronin while Rodney Ah You and Jack McGrath may get another opportunity to impress.

Copeland is an exciting uncapped addition to the bench while Kieran Marmion, Ian Keatley and Stuart Olding will all be looking to make an impact.

Ireland: 15 Felix Jones, 14 Craig Gilroy, 13 Darren Cave, 12 Gordon D’Arcy, 11 Simon Zebo, 10 Ian Madigan, 9 Eoin Reddan (c), 8 Robbie Diack, 7 Tommy O’Donnell, 6 Dominic Ryan, 5 Mike McCarthy, 4 Dave Foley, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Richardt Strauss, 1 Dave Kilkoyne.
Replacements: 16 Sean Cronin, 17 Jack McGrath, 18 Rodney Ah You, 19 Devin Toner, 20 Robin Copeland, 21 Kieron Marmion, 22 Ian Keatley, 23 Stuart Olding.

Date: Sunday, November 16
Venue: Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Kick-off: 14:30 local (GMT)
Referee: JP Doyle (England)
Assistant Referees: Luke Pearce (England), Federico Anselmi (Argentina)
TMO: Jim Yuille (Scotland)