| Six Nations: Ireland v Wales |
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| Venue: Aviva Stadium, Dublin Date: Saturday, 8 February Kick-off: 1415 GMT |
| Coverage: Live on BBC Radio Five, Radio Ulster, Radio Wales and Radio Cymru |
Centre Robbie Henshaw and flanker Peter O’Mahony return to Ireland’s starting line-up as head coach Andy Farrell makes two enforced changes for the visit of Wales on Saturday.
Garry Ringrose and Caelan Doris drop out having picked up injuries in last weekend’s win over Scotland.
Conor Murray starts at scrum-half with John Cooney again on the bench.
Leinster back row Max Deegan is set for his debut having been named among the replacements.
O’Mahony played 76 minutes against Scotland despite starting on the bench, having been called upon after just four minutes following a head injury to debutant Doris.
The Munster flanker was one of Ireland’s best performers as a determined defensive display saw the hosts claim a 19-12 victory in Farrell’s first game since replacing Joe Schmidt as head coach.
His inclusion sees CJ Stander shift to the back of the scrum having begun the opening game at blind-side flanker.
Henshaw was a half-time replacement for Ringrose, who had been ruled out of the next two matches following a procedure on a suspected broken finger.
The injury sees Keith Earls named on the bench. The Munster man has recovered from a knee injury that kept him sidelined for the first game of the tournament and will provide cover across the back line.
Earls will be joined on the bench by 23-year-old Deegan, who will become the third Leinster player to make his international debut under Farrell after Doris and hooker Ronan Kelleher gained their first caps against Scotland.
Dave Kilcoyne, who was taken off for a HIA having been brought on as a second-half replacement, is fit to retain his place in the squad.
Scrum-half Murray will win his 80th international cap on Saturday, and will hope to bounce back from a poor individual display as the five-Test British and Irish Lion continues to hold off Ulster’s Cooney.
Last year’s Six Nations meeting between the sides saw Wales complete a Grand Slam with a dominant 25-7 win at the Principality Stadium.
Ireland: Larmour; Conway, Henshaw, Aki, Stockdale; Sexton, Murray; Healy, Herring, Furlong; Henderson, Ryan; O’Mahony, van der Flier, Stander.
Replacements: Kelleher, Kilcoyne, Porter, Toner, Deegan, Cooney, Byrne, Earls.
Article courtesy of BBC Sport
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