Four Ireland talking points as Aki axed and two rookies make bench

Andy Farrell has kept faith with most of the Ireland starters that ran out for last Friday’s disappointing loss to New Zealand in Dublin, making just a single change to face Argentina in their second match of the Autumn Nations Series, but he has reshuffled his bench as there are four changes there.

Robbie Henshaw has been named at inside centre at the expense of Bundee Aki. At the same time, uncapped duo Thomas Clarkson and Sam Prendergast join Ryan Baird and Craig Casey among the replacements with the injured Tom O’Toole, Ciaran Frawley, Iain Henderson and Conor Murray missing out on this occasion as the respective back-up at tighthead, out-half, lock and scrum-half.

The limp 13-23 defeat to the All Blacks was costly. It was the first home loss in 20 matches at Aviva Stadium for the Irish while they also fell from first to third place in the World Rugby rankings. Here are the RugbyPass Ireland team talking points:

Fall guy Bundee

Class is permanent but form, unfortunately, can be temporary in this sport, as Aki has found again to his cost. Just over 54 weeks ago, he was happily mingling with the glitterati of the rugby world at a swanky function in Paris having been named as one of the nominees for the World Rugby men’s player of year award for 2023.

He wasn’t a winner that night, that honour instead going to New Zealand’s Ardie Savea, but the fact that he was firmly in the running illustrated how fantastic his play had been from his involvement in Ireland’s Six Nations Grand Slam triumph through to the Rugby World Cup.

Aki was a starter in four of Ireland’s title retention matches, only giving way when Farrell opted to start Stuart McCloskey versus Italy. But he has since had a pair of iffy performances that have resulted in his exclusion.

With Ireland beaten in last July’s series opener versus South Africa in Pretoria, he lost out the following week to Garry Ringrose in Durban. Now, he is the fall guy for another loss, this time to New Zealand, and has given up his place to the fit-again Robbie Henshaw.

It’s a tough call for the 34-year-old, being the only starter from last Friday’s poor all-round team performance not to be given the chance to start again against the Pumas. He was Ireland's joint busiest ball carrier last Friday with nine involvements, while his 11 tackles had him listed fourth in that department.

However, just 17 metres were made when on the ball and there were also a couple of turnovers conceded, a lack of impetus that has now resulted in Farrell going with Henshaw alongside Ringrose in the hope of having a response similar to what positively happened in South Africa from one week to the next.

Fireman Sam and Thomas the tank

Fans consumed by the heated debate as to who should be the retired Johnny Sexton’s successor as the Ireland No10 now have a new contender to run the rule over with the naming of Prendergast, the uncapped 21-year-old, as this week’s back-up behind Jack Crowley.

It was just over 17 weeks ago when Frawley was the Ireland hero, kicking a last-gasp drop goal to defeat the Springboks 25-24 at Kings Park, but the erratic nature of his cameo from the bench last Friday night in Dublin has resulted in his omission and the lining up instead of Prendergast for his Test debut from the bench.

Billy Burns, Joey Carbery, Ross Byrne and Harry Byrne are other 10s who have come and gone on Farrell’s watch, but now the focus shifts to Prendergast to see what he might do shadowing Crowley, who is 17 games into his international career but has yet to convincingly nail the jersey down long term.

Having helped Ireland to a Six Nations age-grade Grand Slam in the spring of 2023, Prendergast orchestrated their run a few months later to the World Rugby U20 Championship final in Cape Town and his progress since then has been closely monitored.

A starter in four of 17 appearances last team at Leinster, Farrell brought Prendergast back to South Africa last July so he could get up to speed with how the Test squad operates and his debut cap is now at hand.

That's a development likely to be warmly appreciated by those Aviva Stadium supporters who actually keenly watch their rugby rather than the 'fans' more interested in bunking off on another match-missing beer run.

Tighthead is another key position where Ireland have traditionally lacked depth and with Tadhg Furlong still unavailable and last week’s sub option O’Toole now unavailable due to injury, Clarkson will be the back-up to Finlay Bealham.

The 24-year-old has gradually increased his involvements with Leinster, starting in 12 of his last 20 provincial appearances, and is now considered the next cab off the rank in a position where Oli Jager’s injury added to the lack of depth.

Henderson, Murray axed

Farrell has backed youth at the expense of vastly experienced 30-somethings with his decision to name Baird and Casey on the Ireland bench, with Henderson and Murray missing out.

Between them, the 25-year-old duo Baird and Casey have just 37 caps, quite the drop off compared to the whopping total of 201 Ireland appearances that the 32-year-old Henderson and the 35-year-old Murray collectively have.

Murray was given a token cap last Friday, ushered into the fray on 74 minutes with his teams 10 points down and beaten.

Henderson, though, was part of the four-strong bomb squad thrown into the action in the 58th minute with Ireland still 13-12 up. The switch miserably failed to deliver the necessary accuracy and impact to protect that scoreboard advantage.

With Farrell off of a sabbatical at the end of the month to take charge of the 2025 British and Irish Lions, there is a general anxiousness that two windows – next year’s Six Nations and summer tour – have been compromised with a view of kicking the Ireland squad on towards Rugby World Cup 2027.

With Baird and Casey seen as better bets than Henderson and Murray to make it to Australia in three years, at least their inclusion on this week’s bench has merit from that long term perspective.

The issue with Healy

For all the giddy talk about school production lines, professional rugby in Ireland just doesn’t have the reliable squad depth across the board that it should. We see it at out-half and at tighthead, to name two positions, but Cian Healy’s potentially record-equalling cap on Friday starkly bears out the restricted options at loosehead.

The prop has undoubtedly been a wonderful servant to the game and the fact that he is still on the international rugby pitch at the age of 37, a decade after it seemed he would have to prematurely retire through injury, is a superb testament to his dedication towards his craft.

A run off the bench against Argentina will see him pull level with Brian O’Driscoll’s record of 133 Ireland appearances, but the question must be asked as to where is the competition for the back-up jersey behind Andrew Porter.

But for Porter twigging some years ago that his career was best served giving up on tighthead, where Furlong dominated the selection, and instead developing at loosehead, the situation at that side of the scrum would be far worse than it currently is.

Healy has started in just three of his last 23 appearances dating back to the Autumn Nations Series of 2021, illustrating how far behind Porter he has been for quite some time.

And yet, no one in the Irish system has come close to displacing him as the first-choice loosehead back-up. The lack of competition is quite the weakness in this supposed ‘conveyor belt’ Irish system.