Ireland team winners and losers as Andy Farrell gambles on ‘reluctant’ captain against Springboks while midfield gets much-needed shake-up

Andy Farrell has announced his Ireland matchday 23 to face the Springboks in the second Test in Durban and here are winners and losers from the selection.

Farrell has been forced into changes following injuries from the first Test while also opting for a new captain for the match, dropping Peter O’Mahony to the bench.

For Ireland, it’s one final game before they head off for a break following a long and gruelling season, but don’t expect them to limp over the finish line.

Winners

Caolin Blade

The sad reality of an injury creating an opportunity is true for Caolin Blade, who is in line to earn his third Test cap on Saturday.

Blade has impressed for Connacht this season and now gets his chance in a different shade of green following Jamison Gibson-Park and Craig Casey’s setbacks.

The pressure will be on the number nine to make his mark, which could pay dividends for the 30-year-old down the line in terms of further appearances.

Rob Herring

The injury to Dan Sheehan flung the door open for Rob Herring to tackle his country of birth yet again, and for the first time, he does so in South Africa, as the hooker is named on the bench against the Springboks.

Herring has always been a sturdy performer for Ireland over the years but has fallen down the pecking order in recent seasons following Sheehan and Ronan Kelleher’s emergence.

The veteran is often viewed as a safe option and is just the kind of player needed against the Springboks with strong set-piece work, which is bound to be put to the test in the latter stages of the game.

Garry Ringrose

It’s been an incredibly challenging season for Garry Ringrose, who made just one appearance off the bench for Ireland during the Six Nations before doing so again last week in Pretoria.

The centre now earns his first start of the year against the Springboks after an impressive showing on the Highveld.

When on form and fully fit, Ringrose is one of the best in the business and will be hellbent on claiming back a place in the starting line-up moving forward and a strong outing against the top-ranked side in the world will do him no harm even though it is the last game of the season.

Stuart McCloskey

It’s never easy to make a call on the Irish midfield as there is always one standout that misses out and for the opener it was Stuart McCloskey.

However, the rampaging Ulster centre gets his shot off the bench in Durban and rightly so, after his end-of-season form.

Conor Murray

Form is temporary, class is permanent, and Conor Murray continues to prove that statement time and time again throughout his career.

The experienced number nine returns to the starting role this weekend following the injury to Casey, and while there may have been a slight temptation to give Blade a run in the starting XV, Murray was the logical choice not just because of his experience but because of what he showed on the Highveld in the latter stages of the match.

Caelan Doris

Arguably Ireland’s best player at Loftus Versfeld, Caelan Doris is backed to lead his country in the second Test match. Since Johnny Sexton’s retirement, there have been calls for the back-rower to tackle the leadership role, and while he has been reluctant to take on the job previously, he looks to be up to the challenge.

There will be a spotlight on his interactions with referee Karl Dickson after being brushed aside repeatedly by Luke Pearce last week, but the coaching staff clearly have confidence in him getting it right this time around.

Ireland name Caelan Doris as captain against Springboks as bold changes made for second Test

Losers

Peter O’Mahony

The reality of the situation is that O’Mahony is a wonderful leader and a titan of Irish rugby but he is entering the twilight of his career and for an abrasive and fierce competitor, it has been a long season.

The 34-year-old is perhaps better suited for a bench role going forward, providing a real impact in the latter stages with his skillset and leadership, and perhaps this is the start of his new role in the Irish squad.

Craig Casey

Effectively ruled out of the second Test before the final whistle in Pretoria last week but it is a shame that Casey doesn’t get a second crack at the Springboks after a promising shift before his head injury last week.

The Munsterman has been second fiddle to Gibson-Park in recent years, and this tour presented a wonderful opportunity for him to press his claim for more starting minutes. Unfortunately, injuries are part of the game.

Dan Sheehan

A nightmarish injury for brilliant hooker Sheehan has curtailed his involvement in South Africa. He showed off his full set of skills in Pretoria before suffering what is believed to be a ruptured ACL injury during a routine tackle and is now expected to be sidelined for several months.

It’s a crushing injury for the front-rower, who has really improved his game in recent seasons and become an all-court threat and one of the finest in his position in the world.

Bundee Aki

Bundee Aki misses the second Test match due to a shoulder injury that he has been carrying, and plainly put, it showed last week. At his best, he is one of the most destructive centres in the game but he was unable to stamp that authority on the match in Pretoria.

He still managed a fine shift but not near his usual rampaging and brutal best, and with the aforementioned quality in the midfield at Farrell’s disposal, making a change, injury-enforced or not, was rather straightforward.

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Dave Heffernan and Nathan Doak

Flown to the Republic following the injuries to Casey and Sheehan, Dave Heffernan and Nathan Doak simply came to hold tackle bags in Durban.

Players will always take the opportunity to link up with the national team with the hope to earn another Test cap but for the pair, it was not to be this time around.

Both players have been low down on the pecking order in their respective positions, and they will hope that their training stints in the squad helped with the coaching staff’s perspective of him.

No minutes men

Staying with the theme of not getting any minutes, Farrell has effectively taken nine sightseers on tour with him.

Obviously, these players will have either learnt or added a great deal to the set-up, and their time in the squad cannot be written off as entirely irrelevant, but it is a disappointment for the players that they didn’t get the opportunity.

This is particularly true of some of the real-form players, such as Cormac Izuchukwu and Oli Jager.

But Tom O’Toole, Cian Prendergast, Nick Timoney, Jordan Larmour, Jimmy O’Brien, Sam Prendergast and Jacob Stockdale would have also loved a crack at the Boks.

One has to wonder if an additional game against Portugal, who are in Africa right now too, or Namibia would have been beneficial for all parties involved.

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