Ireland coach Les Kiss has made seven changes to his team to face Canada with Munster’s James Downey making his debut at 32.

It has been a marathon season for Eoin Reddan and his Irish teammates but the Leinster scrum-half is not for making excuses ahead of a daunting three-test series with the world champions.

Brian O’Driscoll has told Ireland’s new arrivals the heroics against South Africa must be reproduced in Sunday’s showdown with Australia.