Places up for grabs as Ireland start afresh for Autumn Nations Cup

Jamison Gibson-Park and James Lowe at Ireland training. Picture: INPHO/Billy Stickland

Johnny Sexton said a line had been drawn under Ireland’s Guinness Six Nations campaign and the side named by Andy Farrell yesterday for this Friday’s Autumn Nations Cup opener at home to Wales certainly emphasised the point.

A new tournament to see us through the absence of the southern hemisphere big guns and not needing to secure world ranking positions has certainly given Ireland’s head coach the freedom to experiment. There may be silverware up for grabs in this four-week, eight-nation competition but Farrell clearly has one eye on building firm foundations in his squad for bigger challenges ahead after the disappointing third-place finish that defeat to France on Halloween delivered on the last day of the championship.