Ireland team v All Blacks: Winners and losers as Andy Farrell snubs ‘classy pair’ while ‘one of the best’ in the business returns

Jared Wright
Split image of Ireland players Robbie Henshaw and Jamison Gibson-Park.

Split image of Ireland players Robbie Henshaw and Jamison Gibson-Park.

Ireland head coach Andy Farrell has named a strong matchday 23 to tackle the All Blacks at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin and following the announcement, we select our winners and losers.

Farrell has been dealt a few timely injury boosts particularly in the pack as Ireland look to continue their impressive run of results on home ground.

In fact, Ireland have lost just one of their last 26 home Tests since Farrell took charge of the team back in 2021 and are currently on a 19-game winning streak in Dublin.

They will also be out to maintain their winning record against the All Blacks since 2016 having won five of their last nine encounters against New Zealand.

Farrell has made some tough decisions too in nailing down his matchday squad for the clash and here are our winners and losers from those calls.

Winners

Jamison Gibson-Park

A win not only for Jamison Gibson-Park but the team in general as the brilliant scrum-half returns to the starting number nine role after missing the July internationals against the Springboks through injury.

The Leinster halfback has often been described as the heartbeat of the Ireland attack and while Craig Casey impressed in the role, Ireland are certainly better placed to knock over the All Blacks with the New Zealand-born star donning the nine jersey.

He will bring a more composed and assured head to the scrum-half role and has repeatedly produced his finest performances in the biggest games. Farrell will be expecting nothing less than that from the 32-year-old who is among the best in the business.

The starting centres

Ireland’s midfield positions are always hotly contested and this weekend it is Bundee Aki and Garry Ringrose who have claimed the starting roles.

Aki is as close to an automatic selection as Farrell is likely to get but deciding who will partner him in the midfield is always up for debate. Robbie Henshaw has impressed in recent appearances while Stuart McCloskey is often the one that misses out. This time around, it is Ringrose who has claimed the number 13 jumper beating the aforementioned pair to the position.

Mack Hansen

It’s been over a year since Mack Hansen last pulled on an Ireland jersey, fittingly he returns to face the All Blacks – the team he last featured against.

The winger has endured a torrid time with injuries since Ireland’s Rugby World Cup quarter-final exit at the hands of the All Blacks. It’s quite telling that Farrell has jumped at the first opportunity that he has had to select Hansen even with the prospect of facing the men in black and it’s a testament to how highly he is rated by the coaching team.

He usurps Calvin Nash in the pecking order and reclaims his starting role in a deadly back three that contains James Lowe and Hugo Keenan – the latter another welcomed returnee after missing the July Tests.

Hansen caused the All Blacks defence all kinds of issues during that quarter-final last year although Ireland did fall to a defeat and he will be eager to right those wrongs in his first outing back in the green jersey.

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Tom O’Toole

Saturday will be a big game for Tom O’Toole as he looks to stake a claim for more minutes in international rugby following the injury to veteran tighthead prop Tadhg Furlong.

Furlong has been Ireland’s first-choice tighthead for several years now racking up 78 Test caps while Finlay Bealham has been his deputy for a long time. O’Toole has pressed his claim more recently but like many, he has struggled to force Farrell’s hand. He now has his chance against one of the best teams in the world and he needs to take it – these opportunities don’t come around too often.

Peter O’Mahony

40 minutes against the All Blacks XV was enough to convince head coach Farrell that flanker Peter O’Mahony is ready to make an impact off the bench against Scott Robertson’s team on Saturday.

O’Mahony has proven pedigree at the highest level with his experience and leadership in the latter stages of the game something which could be pivotal in deciding the result and Farrell recognises precisely that.

The 35-year-old skippered Ireland during the Six Nations and in the first Test against the Springboks in July but has played just 23 minutes in the URC for Munster this season.

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Jamie Osborne

After impressing at fullback in Keenan’s absence during the tour to South Africa, there was always a chance that Jamie Osborne would not play another Test match this year when the excellent number 15 returned. However, he has clearly taken his opportunities and made an impact on the coaches as he claims an all-important place amongst the replacements.

He brings another dimension to Ireland’s bench with his ability to slot into both centre roles, provide an impact at fullback and possibly on the wing. It’s a great space to be in for the 22-year-old going forward and a real asset for Farrell.

Andy Farrell

The best teams in the world are able to overlook top-quality players and replace them in the event of injury and that is certainly true in Ireland’s case with Farrell in an incredibly luxurious position.

So many players will have felt hard done by after the head coach named his team to tackle the All Blacks particularly and as an international coach that’s precisely what you want.

Even with world-class talents like Furlong and Dan Sheenan missing out, Farrell is able to name a team more than capable of maintaining a winning record against the All Blacks since 2016 and continuing their unbeaten run at home to an unprecedented 20 Tests.

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Losers

Craig Casey

Craig Casey filled Gibson-Park’s void superbly during the July internationals but he drops out of the matchday 23 entirely for Ireland’s first Autumn Nations Series Test.

Unfortunately for the Munster star, Gibson-Park has returned in stellar form with Leinster and was always going to be the go-to selection at scrum-half if he returned in good nick.

Meanwhile, Farrell has clearly backed experience on the bench with Conor Murray named along with Casey’s clubmate O’Mahony. Murray produced in the big moments against South Africa earlier this year and has been backed to do just that again but this time against the All Blacks.

Tadhg Furlong

A hammer blow barely begins to describe Tadhg Furlong’s absence for Ireland. The tighthead prop has been a cornerstone of the Irish scrum for so long and would have been crucial to their efforts to knock over the All Blacks.

In the years that have followed Jason Ryan’s appointment, the All Blacks have become a real force in the set-pieces and have three quality scrummagers in Ethan de Groot, Tamaiti Williams and Ofa Tu’ungafasi at loosehead prop – three players that Furlong would have fancied his chances against.

The experienced Irish prop isn’t quite the threat with ball in hand that he used to be but remains the team’s best scrummager and Ireland are certainly weaker without Furlong’s name next to the number three.

Ryan Baird

A victim of the Irish depth and one of the aforementioned players that will feel hard done by after missing out on the matchday 23. Ryan Baird has been hugely impressive off the bench for Ireland in recent times but misses out on two places amongst the replacements, firstly to lock Iain Henderson and then to flanker O’Mahony. Frankly, his versatility counts against him here as Farrell does not believe that he is a better fit as a replacement lock or flank for this match.

Ciaran Frawley

After his heroics against the Springboks in the second Test and continued strong form before his injury with Leinster, Ciaran Frawley will have fancied his chances to be the starting fly-half at the All Blacks this weekend.

Still, he cracks the matchday 23 and will be keen to replicate those efforts in Durban but this time on home soil.

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Calvin Nash

In Hansen’s absence, Calvin Nash took his chances with both hands and impressed more and more with each passing Test match in 2024. Frankly, he did nothing in the green jersey to justify his dropping from the matchday 23 and is probably the unluckiest player to be snubbed.

However, it is understandable that Farrell has backed Hansen now that he is fit again as some of Ireland’s best rugby has come with the Australian-born speedster starting on the wing.

Stuart McCloskey and Robbie Henshaw

As mentioned above, claiming a starting role in the Ireland midfield is no easy task and this week the classy pair of Stuart McCloskey and Robbie Henshaw both miss out entirely.

Henshaw hasn’t played much for Leinster this season but looked sharp against the Lions, while he was excellent during the July internationals and is unfortunate to lose his place to Aki and Ringrose. Meanwhile, McCloskey is often the odd one out when it comes to selection and this week is no different.

What is telling for the pair is that Farrell has selected Osborne on the bench instead of one of the out-and-out centre options which may well become a continuous theme going forward.

READ MORE: Garry Ringrose: Victory over the All Blacks would ‘add to the legacy’ as Ireland put remarkable record on the line in Dublin