'Continuity of selection versus giving guys opportunity, until you get those opportunities you just don't know'

STRIKING THE BALANCE: Ireland interim Head coach Simon Easterby is trying to strike a balance between continuity and giving player the opportunity. Pic: ©INPHO/Tom Maher

Simon Easterby may have rung the changes for Ireland’s latest Guinness Six Nations challenge but do not fall into the trap of thinking his selections weaken his squad’s chances of collecting a Triple Crown at Wales’s expense in Cardiff on Saturday.

The interim head coach made seven changes and one positional switch to the line-up which started the bonus-point victory over Scotland last time that keeps Ireland on track for the dream of a first Six Nations three in a row. Yet only one, a first Test start for tighthead prop Thomas Clarkson, has the faintest whiff of experimentation.