The Ireland starting team that will take the All Blacks by the throat

Andy Farrell may have been hiding away, training and preparing for the Autumn Series in Faro, Portugal for the last two weeks.

But his selection for the Autumn Series opening game is hardly going to contain any surprises. Ireland will pick up where they left off over the summer - except with even less Munster players.

Chief among Farrell's goals is to get Ryan Baird into the side - in a world where bigger is deemed better the six-foot-six, almost 18 stone Leinster player has been occupying his thoughts for some time now.

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An initial plan to ease Baird into second-row thinking has been put on hold as Joe McCarthy's breakthrough has been so productive while James Ryan, seemingly energised by playing alongside RG Snyman, finding his old form has altered that thinking.

Plan B to ease Baird into the back-row fell subservient to the need to play then-skipper Peter O'Mahony while there was never any question that Josh van der flier and Caelan Doris were starter material.

What has happened this season has been the easing of Jack Conan away from his place as the game in, game out replacement back-row and it was clearly significant Farrell brought a raft of 'hopeful' back-rows to Portugal.

There was Baird (the front-runner before departure), Cormac Izuchukwu, Cian Prendergast and Nick Timony in a four-cornered ring to see who will be replacing Conan for the rest of this Rugby World Cup cycle.

Ireland head coach Andy Farrell
(Image: ©INPHO/Dan Sheridan)

All of this suggests that only one of Munster's Tadhg Beirne and Peter O'Mahony might make the side which is quite the comedown from the heady when Horan-Flannery-Hayes-O'Connell-Leamy/Wallace-Quinlan-Foley were in the majority in the pack game on game.

This is a little unlucky on the Reds in that neither Niall Scannell nor Diarmuid Barron were allowed audition for hooker while John Hodnett and Alex Kendellen's involvement may now be stretched out to the next RWC cycle.

Because the return of hookers Dan Sheehan and Ronan Kelleher and the emergence of Gus McCarthy means the Ireland no2 shirt is going to be owned by Leinster for some time to come.

While if room is found for Baird at no6...Leinster will have similar international pack numbers to that Horan-Flannery-Hayes etc, etc list.

Similarly it will be interesting to see if Calvin Nash holds his place or if James Lowe is under pressure as Jacob Stockdale is back in the fold.

It would be madness for Farrell not give Stockdale the big test this November because a fit, try-scoring Stockdale is a six-foot-three, sixteen-pus stone unplayable monster...and a good big fellah is better than a good small fellah as was pointed out earlier.

Ireland have never been such a short price at the bookmakers to beat the All Blacks and 2/5 Ireland to win is pinch-us-we-are-dreaming stuff.

The Man of Steel will have been preaching no mercy all week and will pick as much of a first team as is fit and treat the bench accordingly. He wants his players to put their foot on the All Blacks throat and press. Yes, he was that angry and furious about the RWC 2023 quarter-final loss.

One Fs Ireland team to face New Zealand: Hugo Keenan (Leinster); Calvin Nash (Munster), Garry Ringrose (Leinster), Bundee Aki (Connacht), Jacob Stockdale (Ulster); Jack Crowley (Munster), Jamison Gibson-Park (Leinster).

Andrew Porter (Leinster), Rob Herring (Ulster), Tadhg Furlong (Leinster), Joe McCarthy (Leinster), James Ryan (Leinster), Peter O'Mahony (Munster), Josh van der Flier (Leinster), Caelan Doris (Leinster) capt.

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