Andy Farrell has named his Ireland team to take on Wales in Saturday's Six Nations opener, with Mack Hansen set to make his test debut.
The uncapped Connacht player has been named to start on the wing, beating out competition from the likes of Keith Earls for the spot.
The other big call in the team comes at centre, where Bundee Aki has been selected to start ahead of Robbie Henshaw. He will be partnered by Garry Ringrose.
The rest of the team is largely as expected. The first choice front row of Andrew Porter, Ronan Kelleher, and Tadhg Furlong are set to start, where they will be joined by James Ryan and Tadhg Beirne in the second row.
Caelan Doris, Josh van der Flier and Jack Conan start in the back row, with Jamison Gibson Park given the nod ahead of Conor Murray alongside Johnny Sexton at half back.
Andrew Conway and Hugo Keenan will complete the back three alongside Hansen.
📋 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐀𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭.
Presenting your Ireland Match Day squad for Saturday's #GuinnessSixNations opener against Wales at a sold-out @avivastadium! 👊#TeamOfUs | #IREvWAL— Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) February 3, 2022
Here is the team in full:
Ireland team to face Wales in Six Nations opener
15. Hugo Keenan
14. Andrew Conway
13. Garry Ringrose
12. Bundee Aki
11. Mack Hansen
10. Johnny Sexton
9. Jamison Gibson Park
1. Andrew Porter
2. Ronan Kelleher
3. Tadhg Furlong
4. Tadhg Beirne
5. James Ryan
6. Caelan Doris
7. Josh van der Flier
8. Jack Conan
The Connacht winger is without doubt the most eye-catching inclusion in this side having only joined the province last year. Born in Australia, he qualifies to play for Ireland through his grandmother.
Andy Farrell will be hoping to start off the 2022 Six Nations campaign with a victory, having fallen short against the same opposition on the opening weekend last year.
Ireland enter the game as favourites and will be expected to get the job done. That would set them up nicely for the remainder of the campaign, with tricky looking trips to both France and England to come.
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