Heaslip To Captain New-Look Ireland Against Wales
The Ireland coaching team have announced the team to take on Wales at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday (kick-off 2.30pm).
Jamie Heaslip will captain the side and is joined in the back row by Tommy O’Donnell and Jordi Murphy. The Naas man will also become Ireland’s most-capped back row player of all-time, eclipsing David Wallace’s record of 72 caps.
Donnacha Ryan makes his international return after an absence through injury of over two years and is partnered in the second row by Iain Henderson.
Mike Ross will win his 50th cap for Ireland on Saturday, linking up with his Leinster colleagues Richardt Strauss and Jack McGrath in the front row.
Eoin Reddan and Paddy Jackson make up the half-back pairing, while Keith Earls, also returning to the Ireland team after a two-year gap, pairs up with Darren Cave in the centre. The back-three consists of Fergus McFadden, Andrew Trimble and full-back Felix Jones.
Among the replacements are Rory Best, David Kilcoyne, Michael Bent, Dan Tuohy, Chris Henry, Kieran Marmion, Ian Madigan and Simon Zebo.
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IRELAND Team & Replacements (v Wales, Rugby World Cup Warm-Up Match, Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, Saturday, August 8, kick-off 2.30pm):
Player/Club/Province/Caps –
15. Felix Jones (Shannon/Munster) 11
14. Andrew Trimble (Ballymena/Ulster) 57
13. Keith Earls (Young Munster/Munster) 39
12. Darren Cave (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster) 8
11. Fergus McFadden (Old Belvedere/Leinster) 28
10. Paddy Jackson (Dungannon/Ulster) 9
9. Eoin Reddan (Old Crescent/Leinster) 60
1. Jack McGrath (St. Mary’s College/Leinster) 17
2. Richardt Strauss (Old Wesley/Leinster) 6
3. Mike Ross (Clontarf/Leinster) 49
4. Iain Henderson (Ballynahinch/Ulster) 17
5. Donnacha Ryan (Shannon/Munster) 28
6. Jordi Murphy (Lansdowne/Leinster) 9
7. Tommy O’Donnell (UL Bohemians/Munster) 8
8. Jamie Heaslip (Dublin University/Leinster) 72 (capt)
Replacements:
16. Rory Best (Banbridge/Ulster) 83
17. Dave Kilcoyne (UL Bohemians/Munster) 12
18. Michael Bent (Dublin University/Leinster) 2
19. Dan Tuohy (Ballymena/Ulster) 9
20. Chris Henry (Malone/Ulster) 16
21. Kieran Marmion (Corinthians/Connacht) 3
22. Ian Madigan (Blackrock College/Leinster) 18
23. Simon Zebo (Cork Constitution/Munster) 15