Ireland v The Barbarians Friday 7.45 pm (Live on RTE 2)
An experimental looking Ireland side will take to the field in Thomond Park on Friday evening in their last run out before heading down under to take on the might of the Wallabies and the All-Blacks on their own turf.
There were many who felt that Declan Kidney should have experimented with the squad for the summer tour but barring the absence through injury of the likes of Paul O’Connell, Stephen Ferris and Rory Best, the Irish coach has gone with the tried and tested approach, as is his wont.
Friday night’s encounter will give Kidney a chance to examine the international credentials of debutants Fergus McFadden and Ulster trio Ed O’Donoghue, Dan Tuohy and Chris Henry, as well as others relatively untested at this level such as Sean Cronin, John Muldoon and Niall Ronan.
All of the above will be bursting a gut on Friday night, as assuming that Kidney picks a full strength side for the clash with New Zealand on Saturday week, this game and the clash with the New Zealand Maori, which is sandwiched between the tests against the All-Blacks and the Wallabies a week later, will be the only chances the fringe players have to make a lasting impression on the coach at this level before the start of next year’s Six Nations.
With Ireland desperately short of front row options, Tom Court will hopefully get a decent chance to prove his worth while Marcus Horan gets an opportunity to show Cian Healy that he won’t let the number one jersey go without a fight. Gavin Duffy, a late tour replacement for the injury-stricken Keith Earls, is rewarded for his attitude and performances in training with a starting berth at outside centre.
The Barbarians will provide a decent test for Ireland. Cedric Haymans and Kiwi David Smith will be on hand to provide the flair, while there’s plenty of grunt in a pack which contains our own Alan Quinlan and Malcolm O’Kelly alongside the likes of Biarritz’s Jerome Thion and legendary Aussie flanker George Smith.
After failing to show up in the first half against England last week, the baa-baas staged a decent fight back in the second period and came within nine points of Martin Johnson’s side at the finish. In keeping with the tradition of the baa-baas, they will likely play an expansive game on Friday night so there should be plenty of tries for the Limerick crowd to savour.
Teams:
Ireland: Robert Kearney; Shane Horgan, Gavin Duffy, Fergus McFadden, Andrew Trimble;Ronan O’Gara (captain), Peter Stringer; Marcus Horan, Sean Cronin, Tony Buckley; Ed O’Donoghue, Dan Tuohy; John Muldoon, Niall Ronan, Chris Henry.
Replacements: Jerry Flannery, Tom Court, Mick O’Driscoll, David Wallace, Tomas O’Leary, Jonathan Sexton, Paddy Wallace.
Barbarians: Paul Warwick (Munster); Cedric Heymans (Toulouse), Casey Laulala (Cardiff Blues), Seru Rabini (Leeds Carnegie), David Smith (Hurricanes); Brock James (Clermont Auvergne) Pierre Mignoni (Toulon); David Barnes (Bath), Schalk Brits (Saracens), Census Johnston (Toulouse); Jerome Thion (Biarritz), Malcolm O’Kelly (Leinster); Alan Quinlan (Munster), George Smith (Brumbies), Xavier Rush (Cardiff Blues).
Replacements: Benoit August (Biarritz), Julian White (Leicester Tigers), Rodney So’oialo (Hurricanes), Martyn Williams (Cardiff Blues), Byron Kelleher (Toulouse), Jean-Baptiste Elissalde (Toulouse), Paul Sackey (London Wasps) or Fabrice Estebanez (Brive)
Odds:
Ireland 11/10, Barbarians 8/11, Draw 20/1
JOE Prediction:
Ireland to win with about ten points to spare.
