Andy Farrell set to shuffle his pack as Ireland look to end autumn on a high

Ireland head coach Andy Farrell, right in conversation with Robbie Henshaw, centre and Joey Carbery during squad training at Carton House. Picture: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

There could be changes aplenty to the side being named by Andy Farrell on Friday afternoon as Ireland look to end the year on a high against Argentina this Sunday.

Last Saturday’s epic 29-20 victory over New Zealand marked a high watermark for head coach Farrell in terms of performance and outcome after two years in the post.

It also stretched Ireland’s current unbeaten run to eight Test matches but Farrell will have a new captain and at least a fresh half-back pairing to face the Pumas at Aviva Stadium after injuries from the All Blacks win deny skipper and fly-half Johnny Sexton and scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park the opportunity to feature on Sunday.

Gibson-Park’s thigh injury is likely to bring Conor Murray back into the number nine jersey for his first start since the 2021 Six Nations final-round victory over England having earned his 90th and 91st Ireland caps off the bench in the wins over Japan and New Zealand.

Murray’s Munster rival Craig Casey was the third scrum-half in the squad with Farrell this week also calling in Luke McGrath as additional cover.

The captaincy will pass to second row James Ryan for his latest start in the role after a strong performance as pack leader against the All Blacks while Sexton’s number 10 jersey should pass to Joey Carbery, who successfully steered Ireland home last Saturday with three late penalties.

The Munster star appears to be approaching his best form since returning from the long-term ankle injury that sidelined him for much of 2019-20 and up to February 2021 and will be eager to further his claims to be Sexton’s long-term successor at fly-half with Harry Byrne set to earn a place among the replacements having made his debut off the bench during the summer victory over the USA.

Farrell has made it clear he is not taking this final Autumn Nations Series game lightly but having used just 24 players in the first two Tests, there will be a temptation to deploy more of his wider squad in readiness for the 2022 Six Nations.