There’s good reason for Ireland to drop debutants in at the Six Nations deep end

Is there any such thing as the right time to blood a new cap? In exposing a player to Test rugby for the first time, what are the management hoping to achieve? Is the player in question likely to grow into a key front-line performer down the line or are you picking someone with a view to adding to the depth of your squad, increasing the options available in the event of injury?

There are some players you just know are destined for a long career in international rugby, and therefore when it comes to selection, it’s not a matter of if, but when. Inevitably, results dictate the course of action taken but in my experience, talented young players, by and large, suffer no inhibitions and rise to the challenge more times than not. Josh van der Flier, Stuart McCloskey, and Ultan Dillane offer the most recent example of this.

Back when Warren Gatland, Eddie O’Sullivan, and I bit the bullet and introduced a Famous Five of international debutants in Ronan O’Gara, Peter Stringer, John Hayes, Shane Horgan, and Simon Easterby on the same day against Scotland, it was recognised that, after demoralising defeats to Argentina and England, the team needed a fresh impetus and an injection of youthful enthusiasm.