Andy Farrell happy to see fit Joey Carbery back in green

Munster fly-half set for first international start in 23 months when Ireland face Japan on Saturday

Munster's Joey Carbery at Ireland training. Picture: Inpho/Ryan Byrne

If Joey Carbery can grab hold of Saturday’s Test against Japan the same way he has managed his return to the Ireland camp these past two weeks then Andy Farrell will take an awful lot of positives from the fly-half’s first international start in 23 months.

Sidelined for so long, primarily with an ankle injury that first surfaced against Italy in an August 2019 World Cup warm-up match, Carbery was last seen in green two months later on the night Joe Schmidt’s side were bundled out of the tournament itself by the All Blacks in Japan.

Now comes the 25-year-old’s chance to reassert his claim to be Ireland’s number 10 as he deputises for the rested captain Johnny Sexton against Japan at Aviva Stadium. His oft-delayed return from that ankle injury came for Munster against the Cardiff Blues on February 26 and has been carefully managed. Six starts in nine games have seen improvements with each performance and some flashes of the brilliance that marked him out as Sexton’s successor when he was handed his Test debut by Schmidt off the bench in that famous first win over the All Blacks in Chicago in 2016. But is Carbery back to his best?

“As far as club rugby is concerned, his last game for Munster (at Zebre)was his best so that's unbelievably positive for us to get him back in camp and to see whether he can take the bull by the horns and get stuck in and lead like a 10 should do,” Farrell said yesterday after naming a new-look team for the first of two Vodafone Summer Series matches this weekend.

“We've obviously judged that and he's been very solid in that regard. I'm sure that he's unbelievably excited and proud of himself to get back to this stage. The ankle looks good. He looks in fine fettle and all the skill that we know that Joey Carbery has got... I suppose it's how he orchestrates the game on the day is something that we'll all judge but the team has something to do with that as well.”

With eight players called up by the British & Irish Lions, seven of which remain fit, three more rested with Sexton joined by Keith Earls and Cian Healy, and Garry Ringrose also out injured, it will be an Ireland team captain by a fit-again James Ryan, recovered sooner than expected from the adductor strain he suffered in training last week, that will need to gel quickly. Yet Farrell believes it is an ideal scenario to gauge Carbery’s performance levels after so much struggle with injury.

“It’s been a long time now between drinks for him, being in an Ireland squad, and I’ve absolutely no doubt that through those dark days he was thinking about getting back to this stage and to be able to give him a start in this game with a decent side around him is great for his development.

“We’ll always judge people in an Irish shirt, when they step on the field at the Aviva but.. Joey’s been through a lot, y’know? And this is part of his recovery process as well. This will stand him in good stead for the rest of the summer, and it will certainly stand to us all for next year.”

This will be Ireland’s first game since the Six Nations, which finished on a high with a home victory over England. Though only four starters and nine of the matchday squad in total from that 32-18 win in March survive to face Japan on Saturday, Farrell will demand continuity and progression from his team, regardless of the players now absent.

“It’s the first thing we say to the lads, it doesn’t really matter who’s not in the room. You’re always looking to better your last performance.

“We won’t hide from that fact and that’s what we’ve got to strive for. It was a pretty decent one (against England) - it wasn’t perfect at all, but we’ve shown the players what we did well and what we didn’t do well and we expect improvements.

“How that transpires under pressure on Saturday is one that we’ll watch carefully obviously.”

There is also the potential Munster’s player of the year Gavin Coombes to make his Test debut tomorrow having been named on the bench as a back-row replacement and the instructions given to the Skibbereen forward are clear.

“The first meeting I have in most camps is that I want people to come out of themselves straightaway,” Farrell said. “The reason I want them to come out of themselves straightaway is because we’ve not got any time to waste.

“You’ve got to give the best version of yourself and that’s why you’ve been selected, so I’m excited about seeing Gavin’s form from club to transfer over into the international stage, because if he does, he’s going to play pretty well.”