Afoa moves over to let Fitzpatrick in
With Ireland’s under-cooked tight head Declan Fitzpatrick needing game time in the No 3 jersey ahead of next week’s Six Nations clash with France, New Zealand’s World Cup winner and stand-in Ulster captain moves across as Anscombe makes seven changes and two positional switches from last week’s disappointing defeat to Glasgow.
As expected, Paddy Jackson returns to the No 10 jersey and will take over the kicking duties from Ruan Pienaar while Darren Cave, Iain Henderson and Lewis Stevenson also return. Cave partners up-and-coming academy star Stuart Olding in midfield while Andrew Trimble is back on the right wing, with Michael Allen on the left, and Stevenson now partners Dan Tuohy at lock.
