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One of the most intriguing areas of interest for Irish fans on Friday night at the Fall Nations Cup will undoubtedly be a renewed test midfield.
Head coach Andy Farrell has made several personnel changes to the team that ended the Six Nations season with a loss to France, and he is likely to experiment with new faces and combinations over the course of the next few weeks.
First is the visit from Wales. While there are seven changes in the Paris staff, only two of them are in the back. Jamison Gibson-Park has his first start in a green jersey in scrum half, while the other sees Chris Farrell win just his 11th international game in midfield.
A second-half backup against the French, Farrell lines up alongside Robbie Henshaw. Given the competition at the center, Bundee Aki is among the replacements, while Garry Ringrose suffered a broken jaw against Italy, somewhat surprising that this is the first time the pair have been in situ at the senior level.
“It’s the first time I’ve played with Robbie in a long time,” Farrell said, recalling that their last outing together was for Ireland Under-18s against Scotland.
“This is the first time that we will have the opportunity to demonstrate what we can do as a society. We will work hard and fight for each other when necessary. We look forward to that.”
The main topic of conversation when it comes to team selection is the inclusion of the newly qualified James Lowe.
Head coach Farrell said the “extra dimension” the exciting Kiwi has in attack has paved the way for his starting job, and he has been busy integrating into the new Carton House setup.
Farrell says meeting his provincial rival off the court has altered his perception of Lowe, and he is much happier having him by his side than in direct opposition.
“When you play against someone, the perception you can have of him is always very different from that of people who are teammates and know him personally.
“It has that fiery edge.
“When you play Bundee Aki at Connacht, the same thing happens to him too. He has this fierce advantage that when you play him, you think, ‘God, I don’t know if I like this guy.’
“But whenever you’re on the same side as him, he’s exactly what you want.
“That is why his teammates in Leinster value him so much, and in Connacht with Bundee, they bring an advantage to the provinces that is valued for being so, so competitive and combative.”
“He’s a great, great guy. He’s a lot of fun, he’s always willing to learn. He’s very open and talkative, and actually he’s a lot of fun to be around.”
Follow Ireland v Wales on Friday (start at 7pm) via the live blog on RTÉ.ie / Sport and the News Now app, live coverage on RTÉ2 or listen to the match commentary live on RTÉ Radio 1.
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