The final Six Nations before the World Cup in September. Joe Schmidt's last Six Nations as Irish head coach. It's a significant tournament for all concerned and a sensational match-up to kick things off.
Ireland take on England next week. In what is a trivial but mildly interesting side-note, the tie could also be the last time Joe Schmidt and Eddie Jones face each other while in their current roles unless the teams meet in a World Cup semi-final/final.
On this week's World in Union, the Balls.ie rugby podcast getting an outside perspective on the sport, we choose our Ireland squad for the opening weekend in the Aviva Stadium taking into consideration injuries and form.
It has been confirmed that Tadhg Beirne, Luke McGrath, Kieran Marmion and Iain Henderson will all be unavailable. However, in some more positive news, Rob Kearney returned to start for Leinster last night and played for an hour. While there was some ring-rust in his showing, a fit Kearney will start for Ireland given his ability to cover the backfield and prowess under the high-ball.
The front-row picks itself, with Tadhg Furlong, Rory Best and Cian Healy set to continue their fine form in recent outings. In the second row, Devin Toner and James Ryan should rekindle the partnership that helped fell the All Blacks last November.
In the back-row, Peter O'Mahony and Cj Stander will be joined by either Josh van der Flier or Sean O'Brien. Van der Flier was exceptional against New Zealand, filling in on late notice for the injured Dan Leavy but credit in the bank could stand to O'Brien, who gave a strong showing at number 8 for Leinster last weekend in the Champions Cup.
The half-back partnership is a formality and formidable duo, Johnny Sexton and Conor Murray. Keith Earls and Jacob Stockdale will likely resume their duty on the wings but the biggest conundrum of them all is at centre, where Schmidt must pick two from four with Robbie Henshaw, Gary Ringrose, Bundee Aki and Chris Farrell all fit and available.
Bundee Aki was sensational in 2018 while Farrell's performance against Wales during the last Six Nations clearly impressed Schmidt who suggested in his press conference this week that the Munster centre will get minutes at some point.
However, their Leinster partnership and ability on both sides of the ball should see Henshaw and Ringrose edge it.
On the bench, the replacement back will likely come down to one of Jordan Larmour and Will Addison. Addison's versatility and ability to cover virtually the entire back line may see the Ulster man slot in as number 23.
1- Cian Healy 2- Rory Best 3- Tadhg Furlong 4- Devin Toner 5- James Ryan 6- Peter O'Mahony 7- Sean O'Brien 8- CJ Stander
9- Conor Murray 10- Johnny Sexton 11- Jacob Stockdale 12- Robbie Henshaw 13- Garry Ringrose 14- Keith Earls 15- Rob Kearney
16- Sean Cronin 17- Jack McGrath 18- Andrew Porter 19- Ultan Dillane 20-Josh van der Flier 21- John Cooney 22- Joey Carbery 23- Will Addison
You can watch the full show here, or listen to it here and on all good podcast services.
