Stander: Every Ireland player has a point to prove

It's not just the new faces who must impress as Ireland kick off their Six Nations campaign tomorrow against Scotland.

The team's disastrous showing at last year's World Cup in Japan has placed the spotlight firmly on those players who were part of the campaign in the Far East, even if CJ Stander will claim that such pressures are nothing new at this level.

“Every guy has a point to prove in every game. The jersey is not yours, you get the opportunity to use it and it all starts over again. I think it’s great to get the young boys in and pushing everyone, there are good players to pick from, the group is getting bigger and it’s in a good place.”

The influx of new blood has already had a direct consequence for Stander who switches from No.8 to blindside flanker so that Caelan Doris can be accommodated in the back row for what will be the young Leinster player's test debut.

Doris' father actually met Stander about seven months ago and joked that his son was coming to take his place. The Munster man seemed unperturbed by that when recollecting today and simply advised Doris Snr's son to enjoy the opportunity when it did arise.

Stander has played ample rugby at No.6 for club and country and he played down the significance of the move for him personally. Defence coach Simon Easterby was just as relaxed in discussing the musical chairs in a department completed by Josh van der Flier at openside.

“Guys have to be pretty flexible,” said Easterby after Ireland's captain's run at the Aviva Stadium. “In the World Cup, we saw guys moving around a bit, Pete (O'Mahony) moved to seven, and we have to have that flexibility in that starting pack and guys coming off the bench.

"Caelan comes in for a well-deserved start and we've reshuffled a little bit but we have the added advantage of having the experience of Pete on the bench to cover across the back row. Every team has to be adaptable, particularly in the back row, but it doesn't change things much."

Easterby also revealed that there would be no principal caller of the lineouts tomorrow though it remains to be seen how much change there will be in general from the teams that operated under Joe Schmidt for the last six years.

There will surely be a desire to atone for the failure to match expectations in Japan as they embark on a new a new Six Nations campaign against the Scots on Saturday and Easterby likes what he has seen from his players in the last three months of provincial action.

“The provinces are in a good place, they’ve been well coached, they’ve been well managed and they obviously would have taken a little bit of time to reflect [on the World Cup]. Sometimes as a player you need that little bit of space but when you’re back in it’s the place to be and you get back playing again.

“As coaches, we’ve had a longer period to reflect but for players it’s about trying to dust yourself off and try and put some of those wrongs right which, across the board, I think they’ve been able to do. And guys who didn’t travel with us with Japan have also stepped up and put their hands up and I think that again shows in the selection of the squad.”