For the fourth year in-a-row in the Six Nations, Ireland versus France will be followed by their clash with Italy, with last year's game coming close to ending their Grand Slam bid, when it took a late rally to see off one of the best Italy sides in recent seasons.
Historically, the clash with the Azzurri is where most team changes are made, with the other fixtures generally seen as too well balanced to take unnecessary risks.
Speaking on RTÉ, Jerry Flannery - who was today appointed as the new South Africa defence coach - said he "would roll out the same side" as we saw last week, while Stephen Ferris agreed with him.
However, Andy Farrell made four non-injury enforced changes in 2023, to a side that was already suffering from the losses of Johnny Sexton and Tadhg Beirne.
The management team may see last year's close call as a warning sign not to do too much tinkering, but Ireland's home advantage will see them as heavy favourites, and it presents a perfect opportunity to select non-regulars to start, which will boost morale and increase competition.
READ HERE: Scotland Fans Rage At Irish Punditry After Wales Win
Four Changes We Would Like To See For Ireland Vs Italy
Jacob Stockdale For James Lowe
His last outing for Ulster - a 47-19 loss to Harlequins - was a nightmare for a player who has looked back to near his best this season.
While the nature of Stockdale's defensive errors in that Champions Cup tie were worrying, in that we have seen them on a number of costly occasions for Ireland, they should not totally define how he has played in recent months.
Furthermore, the 31-year-old James Lowe is coming into his more senior years as a winger, and it would be prudent to have a ready made replacement - one with a large left boot - should injury strike him down.
Ireland 12-13 Samoa
Conor Murray races onto Jacob Stockdale's chip ahead to score a badly needed try for Ireland, the conversion is missed and they remain one point behind
📺Watch: https://t.co/X7cSkZilkC
💻Updates: https://t.co/d3i8Pyonax pic.twitter.com/YYfpjgG6Lg— RTÉ Rugby (@RTErugby) August 26, 2023
Craig Casey For Jamison Gibson-Park
Despite overtaking Conor Murray at Munster, the 24-year-old is still vastly inexperienced when compared to his provincial and international teammate.
This gap can be closed with more starts in meaningful matches, which will be vital ahead of the next World Cup with both of Ireland's match day scrum-halves over 30.
Ireland shouldn't lose too much by dropping the excellent Jamison Gibson-Park, given Casey's familiarity with his half-back partner Jack Crowley.
SIZZLING SCRUM-HALVES! 📊🐈⬛
Whether its popping a pass 5m out or running a cheat line on a 60m scorcher, scrum-halves score and assist more tries than any other position 🔥
Munster’s Craig Casey leads the way so far this URC season with 1.6 try involvements per 80! pic.twitter.com/TFGlOObgRP
— RugbyStat + Cat 📊🐈⬛ (@HuwGriffinRugby) January 29, 2024
Ryan Baird For Josh van der Flier
The rangy blindside finished last week's game in Marseille as part of one of the largest and most abrasive back rows we have seen for Ireland, alongside Caelan Doris and Jack Conan.
He has been one of the stand-out players in Europe so far this season, and while he is still only 24-years-old, he is the most experienced of Ireland's next-generation of players.
We would not want to drop Peter O'Mahony in his first home game as captain. Instead we would opt for Josh van der Flier on the bench, with O'Mahony in the seven jersey, as we saw during the World Cup against Romania.
𝙐𝙣𝙞𝙦𝙪𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙡𝙚 👀🎥
The perfect viewpoint of Ryan Baird's break and the finish from Caelan Doris against Stade Francais. 🙌#LEIvLEI #FromTheGroundUp pic.twitter.com/6bJ3KnaysJ
— Leinster Rugby (@leinsterrugby) January 18, 2024
Finlay Bealham For Tadhg Furlong
Tadhg Furlong has appeared to have turned his form around in recent weeks, and has successfully swatted away calls for him to be dropped to the bench for the Connacht tight head.
Bealham deserves his chance, however, and a pissed off Furlong could be revelation as part of Ireland's bomb squad off the bench.
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