Raw Ireland side can use USA Eagles as stepping stone

The Ireland boss selects an inexperienced side to face the USA Eagles

Ireland head coach Andy Farrell. Picture: INPHO/Ryan Byrne

It’s six weeks shy of a calendar year since rugby returned from its pandemic pause with two interpro derbies at the Aviva Stadium so there’s a fitting sense of closure to events tonight as a line is drawn under this season-and-a-bit at the same Lansdowne Road postcode.

Same venue, different backdrop. The presence of a few thousand spectators for this, and last week’s visit of Japan to Dublin, is visible reason for cheer after far too many months of eerie emptiness and ersatz crowd noises.