Ireland conclude their series of Rugby World Cup warm-up fixtures against Samoa, in what will be the teams’ first meeting since the 2019 tournament in Japan.
RUGBY WORLD CUP WARM-UP MATCH:
Saturday, August 26 –
IRELAND v SAMOA, Stade Jean-Dauger, Bayonne, 8.45pm local time/7.45pm Irish time (live RTÉ 2/RTÉ Player/Amazon Prime Video/RTÉ Radio 1 Extra/IRFU Live Blog)
Team News: Following their Bank of Ireland Nations Series wins over Italy and England, the Ireland squad have spent this week in Bayonne to finalise their preparations for the Rugby World Cup.
With just two weeks to go until their Pool B opener against Romania, Iain Henderson returns to the second row to captain the team against Samoa, having done so against Italy at the start of the month.
Jimmy O’Brien, Mack Hansen and Keith Earls, fresh from becoming Irish Rugby’s ninth centurion last weekend, are selected in the back-three, while the centre berths are filled by Robbie Henshaw and Stuart McCloskey.
There is an all-Munster half-back pairing as Jack Crowley and Conor Murray start together, the latter winning his 107th Ireland cap. Including Lions Tests, Murray’s 115th international appearance draws him level with Paul O’Connell.
Cian Healy is set to become Ireland’s most-capped forward of all-time, edging ahead of former captain Rory Best (124 caps). Completing the front row are Finlay Bealham and Ulster youngster Tom Stewart, who makes his first start after debuting off the bench against Italy.
Like Hansen, Tadhg Beirne and Josh van der Flier are both retained from the 29-10 victory over England. Beirne packs down with Henderson in the engine room, and van der Flier, Ryan Baird and Caelan Doris make up an all-Leinster back row.
There is a wealth of experience at Andy Farrell’s disposal among the replacements, with Rob Herring, Jeremy Loughman and Tom O’Toole providing the front row reinforcements.
James Ryan, who skippered the side last Saturday on home soil, and Peter O’Mahony offer cover in the second row and back row respectively. Craig Casey, Ross Byrne and Garry Ringrose are the back-line options.
Having made a dozen changes to the starting XV and with his World Cup squad announcement looming on Sunday, head coach Farrell commented: “I think we got better, certainly in the second game (against England). Scored some fantastic tries.
“(It’s) consistency, isn’t it? That’s why we play the warm-up games and get some of the rust out and show pictures to one another about what’s acceptable and what’s not. We’re here to take a step forward in our development as a team.
“This is a great week for us, as in mimicking the weeks that could be coming up for us in all sorts of different ways. Between the Romania game to the Tonga game, the heat could still be around which it certainly is this week.”
He added: “There’s plenty of distractions which there’s definitely going to be in the World Cup. Walking around on a day off you feel like you’re on holiday so that isn’t how you prepare for a Test match.
“So there’s plenty of distractions. The same referee (Wayne Barnes is in charge of the pool match against Tonga), a night match which is later than normal for us, so this is a brilliant week to see how we cope with all those bits.
“For whatever has happened this week, happens most weeks to be fair, but this was our first back-to-back week with games, so (it’s about) how we manage people.
“I’m not saying that it’s been an easy week because there’s always something going on with all sorts of different players, but this is going to be a breeze in comparison to what’s coming around the corner when we get one, two, three, four, hopefully five games into the tournament.”
Meanwhile, Samoa head coach Seilala Mapusua has made nine changes to the side that beat the Barbarians 28-14 in Brive last weekend. They have also registered recent wins over Japan (24-22) and Tonga (34-9), while losing 33-19 to Fiji.
Former All Black Lima Sopoaga, who qualifies for Samoa on ancestry grounds, will make his Test debut for the Pacific Islanders at out-half. La Rochelle’s UJ Seuteni, a try scorer against Leinster during last season’s Heineken Champions Cup final, features in the centre.
Leinster’s own Michael Ala’alatoa, the Samoan squad’s co-captain, and ex-Ulster number 10 Christian Leali’ifano are two more familiar faces. The pair are part of a bench line-up that includes four Moana Pasifika players.
Ed Fidow, Seuteni, Ala’alatoa, Perpignan hooker Seilala Lam, co-captain Chris Vui, Paul Alo-Emile and Jordan Lay were all part of the Samoan matchday 23 for their 47-5 defeat to Ireland during the 2019 Rugby World Cup’s pool stages in Japan.
IRELAND: Jimmy O’Brien (Naas/Leinster); Mack Hansen (Galway Corinthians/Connacht), Robbie Henshaw (Buccaneers/Leinster), Stuart McCloskey (Bangor/Ulster), Keith Earls (Young Munster/Munster); Jack Crowley (Cork Constitution/Munster), Conor Murray (Garryowen/Munster); Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster), Tom Stewart (Ballynahinch/Ulster), Finlay Bealham (Buccaneers/Connacht), Iain Henderson (Academy/Ulster) (capt), Tadhg Beirne (Lansdowne/Munster), Ryan Baird (Dublin University/Leinster), Josh van der Flier (UCD/Leinster), Caelan Doris (St. Mary’s College/Leinster).
Replacements: Rob Herring (Ballynahinch/Ulster), Jeremy Loughman (Garryowen/Munster), Tom O’Toole (Ballynahinch/Ulster), James Ryan (UCD/Leinster), Peter O’Mahony (Cork Constitution/Munster), Craig Casey (Shannon/Munster), Ross Byrne (UCD/Leinster), Garry Ringrose (UCD/Leinster).
SAMOA: Duncan Paia’aua (Toulon); Ed Fidow (Rugby New York), UJ Seuteni (La Rochelle), Tumua Manu (Pau), Nigel Ah Wong (Unattached); Lima Sopoaga (Lyon), Jonathan Taumateine (Moana Pasifika); James Lay (Blues), Seilala Lam (Perpignan), Paul Alo-Emile (Stade Francais), Chris Vui (Bristol Bears) (co-capt), Theo McFarland (Saracens), Taleni Seu (Toyota Industries Shuttles Aichi), Fritz Lee (Clermont Auvergne), Steven Luatua (Bristol Bears).
Replacements: Sama Malolo (San Diego Legion), Jordan Lay (Blues), Michael Ala’alatoa (Leinster) (co-capt), Miracle Fai’ilagi (Moana Pasifika), Jordan Taufua (Lyon), Ereatara Enari (Moana Pasifika), Christian Leali’ifano (Moana Pasifika), Neria Foma’i (Moana Pasifika).
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant Referees: Andrea Piardi (Italy), Adam Leal (England)
Television Match Official: Ben Blain (Scotland)
Pre-Match Quotes: Iain Henderson (Ireland) –
Like us, this game represents Samoa’s pre-World Cup campaign coming to a crescendo. It’s an exciting time for them. They’re looking to have a shot at us and we’re looking to play the game we like, enjoy and want to play.
“They pose huge threats, including the whole way throughout their pack. They’re a different animal to the last time we played them (at the 2019 Rugby World Cup).
“A lot of players have been here before in this scenario (awaiting the World Cup squad announcement). That anxiety is obviously stressful enough for players but nothing players aren’t used to in terms of stress in a professional rugby environment.
“Selections for cup finals, tours, Six Nations – obviously this one carries a slightly different weight but we’re a really tight-knit group. The guys who are feeling probably the worst about it are probably the best supported.”
Seilala Mapusua (Samoa) –
We’re in a good place in terms of we’ve had a bit of time together now. Having quality coaches in our set-up has meant that we’ve been able to build over the last two, three years, which is a big change from the last World Cup where the last head coach came in less than 12 months before.
“We’re fortunate enough to have this consistent coaching group over the last few years and also a lot of the players that are now available has made a difference.
“Ireland’s (world) ranking speaks for itself. They’ve become a really good team and I say that because they’ve got some awesome individuals across the park but in terms of their cohesion as a team, they’re very much in sync with each other.
“They’re a team that look like they love playing for each other and love playing for their country.”
Pre-Match Videos –
Recent Meetings –
2010: Guinness Series: Ireland 20 Samoa 10, Aviva Stadium
2013: Guinness Series: Ireland 40 Samoa 9, Aviva Stadium
2019: Rugby World Cup Pool A: Ireland 47 Samoa 5, Fukuoka Hakatanamori Stadium
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