| First Test: Australia v Ireland |
|---|
| Date: Saturday, 9 June Venue: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane Kick-off: 11:00 BST |
| Coverage: Score updates and match report on BBC Sport website |
Joey Carbery will start Ireland’s first Test against Australia on Saturday at fly-half.
Head coach Joe Schmidt has chosen to rest several Leinster players following their busy end of season schedule.
Johnny Sexton, Tadhg Furlong and Cian Healy are among the replacements while Garry Ringrose and Dan Leavy are not included in the squad.
Flanker Peter O’Mahony is set to captain the side in the absence of regular skipper Rory Best.
Munster-bound Carbery, 22, is one of two changes from the back line that started Ireland’s final Six Nations game at Twickenham in March.
Robbie Henshaw replaces Ringrose at outside centre where he will renew his partnership with former Connacht team-mate Bundee Aki.
Despite earning the majority of his Leinster caps at full-back, Carbery’s inclusion at 10 is not entirely surprising given that it is a role in which he has deputised for Sexton in recent international matches.
It was also likely that several big-name Leinster players would be rested. The province enjoyed a hectic but successful end of season which saw them win the Champions Cup and the Pro14.
Ireland last met the Wallabies in Brisbane eight years ago, when they were defeated 22-15. However, Schmidt’s side, now ranked second in the world, have won their last two encounters with Australia.
With Best injured, Ulster team-mate Rob Herring will start in the front row alongside Jack McGrath and John Ryan.
Australia head coach Michael Cheika has handed debuts to Queensland Reds pair Brandon Paenga-Amosa and Caleb Timu.
Timu’s inclusion at the back of the scrum moves the experienced David Pocock to blind-side flanker, where he will hope to dominate the breakdown alongside captain Michael Hooper.
| Australia v Ireland series | ||
|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 9 June | Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane | 11:00 BST |
| Saturday, 16 June | AAMI Park, Melbourne | 11:00 BST |
| Saturday, 23 June | Allianz Stadium, Sydney | 11:00 BST |
Australia: Folau; Koroibete, Kerevi, Beale, Haylett-Petty; Foley, Genia; Sio, Paenga-Amosa, Kepu, Rodda, Coleman, Pocock, Hooper, Timu.
Ireland: RKearney; Earls, Henshaw, Aki, Stockdale; Carbery, Murray; McGrath, Herring, Jo Ryan, Henderson, Ja Ryan, O’Mahony, Murphy, Stander.
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