Jacob Stockdale will make a first Test start at full-back when Ireland welcome Italy to Dublin to restart the Six Nations on Saturday.
he Ulsterman has been a regular in the 15 jersey for his province since returning from lockdown, and excelled there in green when representing the Irish under-20s, but has exclusively played his senior international rugby on the left wing.
The re-jig to Andy Farrell’s back-three for the game sees Leinster’s uncapped Hugo Keenan come into Stockdale’s usual number 11 jersey while there will also be a debut in the pack where Keenan’s provincial team-mate Will Connors gets the nod at openside flanker.
Elsewhere, Ulster’s Rob Herring has held onto the starting hooker role he filled in the three games prior to lockdown and it is Munster’s Tadhg Beirne who takes the suspended Iain Henderson’s place in the second-row alongside James Ryan.
Caelan Doris will start at blindside flanker, keeping Peter O’Mahony on the bench, and Farrell has stuck with the centre pairing of Garry Ringrose and Bundee Aki that began the championship all the way back in February with Robbie Henshaw left to wear the number 23.
Two more debuts could follow from the replacements with Ed Byrne the reserve loosehead and Jamison Gibson-Park backing up Conor Murray at scrum-half.
Ulster centre Stuart McCloskey, although in the Six Nations squad, is not included in the match-day panel.
IRELAND TEAM TO FACE ITALY: J Stockdale; A Conway, G Ringrose, B Aki, H Keenan; J Sexton (capt), C Murray; C Healy, R Herring, A Porter; T Beirne, J Ryan; C Dorris, W Conners, CJ Stander.
REPLACEMENTS: D Heffernan, E Byrne, F Bealham, U Dillane, P O’Mahony, J Gibson-Park, R Byrne, R Henshaw.
Belfast Telegraph
