Rookies will get the job done

Joe Schmidt insisted he had not picked Test rookies Dave Foley and Dominic Ryan for show and backed them to get the job done against Georgia tomorrow at the Aviva Stadium.

Munster lock Foley, 27, and Leinster back row Ryan, 24, have been handed their Ireland debuts as Schmidt rotates his squad, not just with a six-day turnaround to Australia next week in mind but also a warm-up for next September’s World Cup pool campaign games on successive weekends against Canada, Romania, Italy and France.

The untested forwards are two of 13 changes to the side which started Saturday’s 29-15 victory over number two-ranked South Africa but Schmidt believes his incoming fringe players are more than capable of fulfilling their roles against a battle-hardened Georgia team.