Cheetahs v Emerging Ireland, Toyota Stadium, Bloemfontein, Wednesday. 6pm Irish time – live on IrishRugby+
Ireland head coach Simon Easterby has made 12 changes and a positional switch to the side that beat Australian Super Rugby outfit Western Force 29-24 for the third and final game of their South Africa tour, when they face local Bloemfontein side the Cheetahs on Wednesday evening.
Andrew Osborne shifts from fullback to right wing to accommodate the return of Ben O’Connor, while centre Hugh Cooney and outhalf Sam Prendergast are the only other survivors in the run-on team.
Wing Seán O’Brien (Munster), centre Jude Postlethwaite (Ulster) and hooker Gus McCarthy (Leinster) have been recalled by their provinces, while the physical legacy of a tough encounter with the Force, a match played in sweltering conditions, means that players like tour captain and man-of-the-match on Sunday, Alex Kendellen, and Cormac Izuchukwu have been rested.
Prendergast will start his third consecutive match, forming a halfback combination with fellow Lansdowne player Cormac Foley. Hugh Gavin partners Cooney, while Zac Ward, the man-of-the-match and a try scorer in the opening game against the Pumas, is named on the left wing.
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Prop Alex Usanov, who only turned 19 in July, retains his place in a frontrow with Stephen Smyth and Jack Augier recalled to the starting team. Evan O’Connell gets a first start in the secondrow alongside Darragh Murray, while Harry Sheridan, Seán Edogbo and James Culhane, who will captain the team, form an athletic and bruising backrow.
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Gorey-born, Munster academy prop George Hadden, has arrived from Ireland in time to take his place on the bench.
Easterby said: “When we set out at the beginning of our pre-camp in Dublin, we knew about the challenge of facing three sides in a week and we knew that every player in the group would have the opportunity to play his part. To a man each player has given his all so far and we are aiming to finish off the series with another positive performance.
“The Cheetahs are a fiercely proud and strong side and it should be a lively game with a vocal home support behind them. It has been a fruitful past few weeks to date and we have learned a lot.
“While our performances haven’t been perfect, the players have embraced the challenge and played some brilliant rugby at times. We know that we have to be clinical in our execution, go up another level to get the performance we want and hopefully finish the tour on a high.”
Emerging Ireland won all three matches in 2022 and stand on the cusp of matching that achievement.
EMERGING IRELAND: B O’Connor (UCC/Munster); A Osborne (Naas/Leinster), H Cooney (Clontarf/Leinster), H Gavin (Galwegians/Connacht), Z Ward (Ballynahinch/Ulster/Ireland Sevens); S Prendergast (Lansdowne/Leinster), C Foley (Lansdowne/Leinster); A Usanov (Clontarf/Leinster), S Smyth (Old Wesley/Leinster), J Aungier (Clontarf/Connacht); E O’Connell (Young Munster/Munster), D Murray (Buccaneers/Connacht); H Sheridan (Dublin University/Ulster), S Edogbo (UCC/Munster), J Culhane (UCD/Leinster, capt).
Replacements: D Sheahan (Cork Constitution/Munster), G Hadden (Garryowen/Munster), S Wilson (QUB/Ulster), C O’Tighearnaigh (UCD/Leinster), A Soroka (Clontarf/Leinster), M Devine (Corinthians/Connacht), J Murphy (Clontarf/Ulster), C Tector (Lansdowne/Leinster).
