AFTER conceding nine tries to a rampant All Black side in the howler that was last Saturday’s test match in New Plymouth, Ireland head coach, Declan Kidney has made wholesale changes to his starting XV to face the New Zealand Maori team this Friday in Rotorua at 19.35 local time. (Game is live on Sky Sports 1 from 8.30am)
Geordan Murphy will captain Ireland for the first time when he leads out the side for the second match of the summer tour against the New Zealand Maori team
as Shane Horgan comes into the side on the right wing alongside Gavin Duffy, Paddy Wallace, Johne Murphy, all of whom were involved in the game against the Barbarians at the start of the tour.
Jonathan Sexton and Eoin Reddan will form the halfback partnership.
Munster will have just two representatives on the starting XV in the form of Marcus Horan who partners Tom Court on either side of John Fogarty in the front row, while late call-up, Niall Ronan, becomes the elder statesman alongside the uncapped pairing of Chris Henry and Rhys Ruddock. Ruddock joined the senior tour after Kidney called him from the Junior World Cup in Argentina following the five week ban handed down to Jamie Heaslip last weekend.
Dan Touhy, will start this game alongside Ed O’Donoghue in the second row.
In the replacements, Hayes, O’Callaghan, Wallace, Stringer and O’Gara will be poised to make an impact alongside Connacht’s Sean Cronin and Leinster full back, Rob Kearney.
Ireland XV:
15 – Geordan Murphy (Leicester) Captain
14 – Shane Horgan (Boyne/Leinster)
13 – Gavin Duffy (Galwegians/Connacht)
12 – Paddy Wallace (Ballymena/Ulster)
11 – Johne Murphy (Leicester)*
10 – Jonathan Sexton (St.Mary’s College/Leinster)
9 – Eoin Reddan (Lansdowne/Leinster)
1 – Marcus Horan (Shannon/Munster)
2 – John Fogarty (De la Salle Palmerston/Leinster)
3 – Tom Court (Malone/Ulster)
4 – Ed O’Donoghue (Ballymena/Ulster)*
5 – Dan Tuohy (Ballymena/Ulster)
6 – Rhys Ruddock (Blackrock College/Leinster)*
7 – Niall Ronan (Shannon/Munster)
8 – Chris Henry (Ballymena/Ulster)*
Replacements:
16 – Sean Cronin (Buccaneers/Connacht)
17 – John Hayes (Shannon/Munster)
18 – Donncha O’Callaghan (Cork Constitution/Munster)
19 – David Wallace (Garryowen/Munster)
20 – Peter Stringer (Shannon/Munster)
21 – Ronan O’Gara (Cork Constitution/Munster)
22 – Rob Kearney (UCD/Leinster)
