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Uncapped Loughman to start as Ireland make nine changes for Fiji

(Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile via Getty Images)

Andy Farrell has named an Ireland team to face Fiji on Saturday that has nine changes from the XV that defeated South Africa, with the uncapped prop Jeremy Loughman set for a debut start while fellow rookies Cian Prendergast and Jack Crowley are in line to make their Test debuts from the bench.

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The six players Farrell has retained in his starting team are centre Stuart McCloskey, wings Robert Baloucone and Mack Hansen, tighthead Tadhg Furlong, lock Tadhg Beirne and back-rower Caelan Doris, who will start at blindside instead of last Saturday’s No8 role.

Furlong has been named as skipper and he will become the 109th player to captain Ireland. The last prop to have this responsibility was Simon Best against Argentina in 2007.

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Elsewhere in the XV, Robbie Henshaw has recovered from the hamstring issue that ruled him out late from starting against the Springboks. He takes over from the benched Garry Ringrose. while Jimmy O’Brien, the rookie who made his Test debut off the bench due to that emergency injury reshuffle, will start at full-back for Hugo Keenan.

The other backline changes are at half-back with Joey Carbery partnering Jamison Gibson-Park after they shadowed Johnny Sexton and the now-injured Conor Murray last weekend.

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In the pack, Loughman will debut at loosehead in place of Andrew Porter, Rob Herring is at hooker for Dan Sheehan, Kieran Treadwell is starting his first match at lock in five years in place of James Ryan, while the back row sees Nick Timoney and Jack Conan picked in place of the rested Josh van der Flier and Peter O’Mahony. On the bench, Tom O’Toole, Max Deegan and Craig Casey are new to this week’s matchday 23 along with uncapped duo Prendergast and Crowley.

Ireland (vs Fiji, Saturday)
15. Jimmy O’Brien (Leinster/Naas) 1 cap
14. Robert Baloucoune (Ulster/Enniskillen) 3 caps
13. Robbie Henshaw (Leinster/Buccaneers) 60 caps
12. Stuart McCloskey (Ulster/Bangor) 7 caps
11. Mack Hansen (Connacht/Corinthians) 7 caps
10. Joey Carbery (Munster/Clontarf) 36 caps
9. Jamison Gibson-Park (Leinster) 21 caps
1. Jeremy Loughman (Munster/Garryowen)*
2. Rob Herring (Ulster/Ballynahinch) 29 caps
3. Tadhg Furlong (Leinster/Clontarf) 61 caps CAPTAIN
4. Kieran Treadwell (Ulster/Ballymena) 9 caps
5. Tadhg Beirne (Munster/Lansdowne) 34 caps
6. Caelan Doris (Leinster/St Mary’s College) 21 caps
7. Nick Timoney (Ulster/Banbridge) 2 caps
8. Jack Conan (Leinster/Old Belvedere) 31 caps

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Replacements:
16. Dan Sheehan (Leinster/Lansdowne) 11 caps
17. Cian Healy (Leinster/Clontarf) 119 caps
18. Tom O’Toole (Ulster/Ballynahinch) 3 caps
19. Cian Prendergast (Connacht/Galwegians)*
20. Max Deegan (Leinster/Lansdowne) 1 cap
21. Craig Casey (Munster/Shannon) 5 caps
22. Jack Crowley (Munster/Cork Constitution)*
23. Garry Ringrose (Leinster/UCD) 45 caps

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Soliloquin 1 hour ago
Competing interests and rotated squads: What the 'player welfare summer' is really telling us

I don’t know the financial story behind the changes that were implemented, but I guess clubs started to lose money, Mourad Boudjellal won it all with Toulon, got tired and wanted to invest in football , the French national team was at its lowest with the QF humiliation in 2015 and the FFR needed to transform the model where no French talent could thrive. Interestingly enough, the JIFF rule came in during the 2009/2010 season, so before the Toulon dynasty, but it was only 40% of the players that to be from trained in French academies. But the crops came a few years later, when they passed it at the current level of 70%.

Again, I’m not a huge fan of under 18 players being scouted and signed. I’d rather have French clubs create sub-academies in French territories like Wallis and Futuna, New Caledonia and other places that are culturally closer to RU and geographically closer to rugby lands. Mauvaka, Moefana, Taofifenua bros, Tolofua bros, Falatea - they all came to mainland after starting their rugby adventure back home.

They’re French, they come from economically struggling areas, and rugby can help locally, instead of lumping foreign talents.

And even though many national teams benefit from their players training and playing in France, there are cases where they could avoid trying to get them in the French national team (Tatafu).

In other cases, I feel less shame when the country doesn’t believe in the player like in Meafou’s case.

And there are players that never consider switching to the French national team like Niniashvili, Merckler or even Capuozzo, who is French and doesn’t really speak Italian.

We’ll see with Jacques Willis 🥲


But hey, it’s nothing new to Australia and NZ with PI!

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