Analysis - Andy Farrell rings the changes for Fiji game but keeps a strong spine as he looks for second November win

Andy Farrell, anxious to curate a second November Series win, has picked a surprisingly strong side for the game with Fiji this Saturday.Loosely translated there are four rookies, three fringe players and eight regulars for a test Farrell doesn't want turning messy, one he doesn't want to cough up.

The coach is looking to finish the November Series strongly, with three wins from the four outings, before taking his 11-month Lions sabbatical.

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The 'rookies' comprise debutants Cormac Izuchukwu and Gus McCarthy, a full debut for Leinster tyro Sam Prendergast who was sub each of the last two weeks and a return from long term injury for Jacob Stockdale.

Said Farrell of his two new caps Izuchukwu and McCarthy: "The first Emerging Ireland tour is when we first came across Cormac's ability, his athleticism and since then - I know that's a couple of years ago - the improvement and maturity of his game because he was young in as far as the 15-a-side game when the first Emerging tour was on.

Cormac Izuchukwu
(Image: ©INPHO/Bryan Keane)

"The difference between the first tour and the second tour was chalk and cheese. His ability, point of difference, his potential with that maturity, he deserves a shot to show what he's got.

"Gus, what a rise in such a short space of time. Obviously coming from the 20s and being successful there, he's been a captain for a long time now and you can see why because you can see his maturity in how he goes about the game."But rugby is a strange thing. You think there's a pecking order and all of a sudden a couple of players get an injury then a kid gets an opportunity and he shows up really well when we take him on the training week with us as a development player."He showed up unbelievably well and he's forced our arm to keep him in the squad, first and foremost and he deserves a shot to see what he can do as well."While the coach has been, once again, talking of Prendergast being on the road to a very big future.

"I'm confident from what we've seen. We took him on the Emerging and he played in all of those games and the aim of that was for him to grab hold of that team and make sure that he treated it like his own as though he was in charge.

"He did that in spades and this week we've seen the benefit of that. We need to see it transfer obviously. His character is composed, confident but yet not over-confident. He's assertive in what he wants and he has a nice way about how he goes about his business."

Ireland Rugby Squad Training, IRFU High Performance Centre, Sport Ireland Campus, Blanchardstown, Dublin 11/11/2024 Jacob Stockdale Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Bryan Keane

This will be Jacob's first return to an Ireland shirt since playing two of the down-table games in the run to RWC 2023 and at a time when he was struggling to prove he had returned to his best following long term injury."Jacob deserves it. His form has been great. He's been back in the fold with us, albeit not getting an opportunity, over the last 12 months and we've seen that improvement within his game."He's chomping at the bit and this is his chance to show us what he's about at this level again."Ireland (v Fiji): Jamie Osborne (Leinster); Mack Hansen (Connacht), Robbie Henshaw (Leinster), Bundee Aki (Connacht)(58), Jacob Stockdale (Ulster); Sam Prendergast (Leinster), Craig Casey (Munster); Andrew Porter (Leinster), Gus McCarthy (Leinster)*, Finlay Bealham (Connacht), Joe McCarthy (Leinster), Tadhg Beirne (Munster), Cormac Izuchukwu (Ulster)*, Josh van der Flier (Leinster), Caelan Doris (Leinster) captReplacements: Rónan Kelleher (Leinster), Tom O’Toole (Ulster), Thomas Clarkson (Leinster), Iain Henderson (Ulster), Cian Prendergast (Connacht), Conor Murray (Munster), Ciaran Frawley (Leinster), Stuart McCloskey (Ulster)Saturday's match is live on Virgin Media One (Republic of Ireland) and TNT Sports (UK), while there is live radio commentary available on RTÉ Radio

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