Kidney relishing shot at Saxons

Ireland coach Declan Kidney will challenge his 'A' players to give everything they have got to win the Churchill Cup final for the first time against the England Saxons, who are looking for their third straight win in the competition tonight (K.O. 9.30pm Irish time).

"It is a massive challenge for the team to play the defending Churchill Cup champions, but one they are all looking forward to. England has huge strength in depth and could easily put out another two or three sides of similar strength, so it will require a really good performance from us," said Kidney.

"England has been impressive in their first two games and I am sure they will want to retain their title which will give them a three-in-a row".

"The games in the Churchill Cup and the senior tour were all about exposing the players to international level rugby and also allowing the coaches to work with the players more closely. The previous two games allowed us to do that and it has been a good experience for all of us".

Confrontational flanker Neil Best has been humbled by coach Kidney's decision to make him captain.

"It's a great honour for me to captain the team and I was delighted when Declan asked me to do the job," said the Northampton Saint.

"It's been a great tournament for us so far and we are looking forward to Sunday. Playing in England, I obviously now quite a lot of the Saxons team and they are an excellent side, so we really need to bring our best performance out for the last game."

IRELAND A v England Saxons:

15-Felix Jones (Old Belvedere/Leinster)

14-Denis Hurley (Cork Constitution/Munster)

13-Fergus McFadden (UCD/Leinster)

12-Keith Matthews (Buccaneers/Connacht)

11-Johne Murphy (Leicester)

10-Jonathan Sexton (St.Mary's College/Leinster)

9-Isaac Boss (Ballymena/Ulster)

1-Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster)

2-Sean Cronin (Buccaneers/Connacht)

3-Tony Buckley (Shannon/Munster)

4-Donnacha Ryan (Shannon/Munster)

5-Devon Toner (Lansdowne/Leinster)

6-Neil Best (Northampton Saints) Captain

7-Niall Ronan (Shannon/Munster)

8-Chris Henry (Ballymena/Ulster)

Replacements:

16-Dennis Fogarty (Cork Constitution/Munster)

17-Bryan Young (Ballymena/Ulster)

18-Trevor Hogan (Blackrock College/Leinster)

19-John Muldoon (Galwegians/Connacht)

20-Simon Keogh (Old Belvedere/Leinster)

21-Niall O'Connor (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster)

22-James Downey (Northampton Saints)