Hugo Keenan and Will Connors to get Ireland debuts as Six Nations resumes

Hugo Keenan with head coach Andy Farrell at Ireland training yesterday. The Leinster man will make his international debut this weekend. Picture: INPHO/Dan Sheridan

Hugo Keenan and Will Connors have been handed Test debuts for Ireland against Italy this Saturday as Andy Farrell resumes his bid for the 2020 Guinness Six Nations title.

The Leinster duo, wing Keenan and flanker Connors, both aged 24, are two of six changes announced by head coach Farrell on Wednesday from the side beaten 24-12 by England at Twickenham last time out before the championship was paused in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

With two games still to play, concluding with a trip to France on October 31, Ireland need maximum points from both contests, starting against the winless Italians behind closed doors at Aviva Stadium this Saturday.

Keenan, a regular starter for Leinster since the post-lockdown restart, will start on the left wing in a position vacated by former Ireland U20 team-mate Jacob Stockdale, who moves to full-back in the absence of the injured Jordan Larmour.

There is a change in midfield where Garry Ringrose returns at outside centre to partner Bundee Aki with Robbie Henshaw dropping to the bench as Farrell puts the focus on a more attack-minded centre partnership outside half-backs Conor Murray and captain Johnny Sexton in pursuit of the four-try, bonus-point win necessary to keep Ireland on track for the title.

Connors starts at openside flanker in one four changes to the Ireland pack outmuscled at Twickenham on February 23. He joins Leinster team-mate Caelan Doris at blindside flanker and CJ Stander at No.8, the only survivor of the back-row which started last time out.

That means no starting jersey for either Josh van der Flier or Peter O’Mahony, who stays in the matchday squad as a replacement having missed the first three Ireland training sessions last week after having to self-isolate as a close contact of a Munster team-mate who tested positive for Covid-19 the previous week.

In the front row, Andrew Porter replaces the injured Tadhg Furlong for just his fifth start in what will be a 27th Test appearance, packing down alongside hooker Rob Herring and loosehead Cian Healy, set for his 99th Ireland appearance.

The final change to the starting line-up sees Tadhg Beirne come into the second row alongside James Ryan as reward for strong form since his return in late August from a fractured ankle suffered in Munster’s trip to Saracens last December. Beirne replaces Devin Toner, who was omitted from Farrell’s initial 35-man training squad.

There are potential Ireland debuts off the bench from the replacements named by Farrell on Wednesday with Leinster’s loosehead prop Ed Byrne and scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park primed to start their Test careers if required. Ross Byrne will be fly-half replacement, providing familiarity for New Zealand-born Leinster team-mate Gibson-Park, 28, who qualifies for Ireland on residency having moved to Dublin in 2016. Gibson-Park holds off the claims of Kieran Marmion and replaces John Cooney from the last matchday squad, the Ulsterman having been dropped from the wider squad named a fortnight ago.

IRELAND (v Italy): J Stockdale (Ulster/Lurgan); A Conway (Munster/Garryowen), G Ringrose (Leinster/UCD), B Aki (Connacht/Galwegians), H Keenan (Leinster/UCD); J Sexton (Leinster/St Mary’s College) - captain, C Murray (Munster/Garryowen); C Healy (Leinster/Clontarf); R Herring (Ulster/Ballynahinch), A Porter (Leinster/UCD); T Beirne (Munster/Lansdowne), James Ryan (Leinster/UCD); C Doris (Leinster/UCD), W Connors (Leinster/UCD), CJ Stander (Munster/Shannon).

Replacements: D Heffernan (Connacht/Buccaneers), Ed Byrne (Leinster/UCD), F Bealham (Connacht/Corinthians), U Dillane (Connacht/Corinthians), P O’Mahony (Munster/Cork Constitution), J Gibson-Park (Leinster), R Byrne (Leinster/UCD), R Henshaw (Leinster/Buccaneers).