Change brings opportunity. Andy Farrell has adhered to that principle in his team selection for Saturday’s Test against Japan at the Aviva Stadium (12.40). He has empowered players to run with the chance. They in turn must appreciate the privilege in a proactive way.
Tom Farrell’s debut will rightly grab the headlines, a reward for a player whose attacking ability and playmaking skills have illuminated many a match over several seasons. He’s been unfortunate that the competition up to now has been of a consistently high quality.
But in looking across the backline, it is the other alterations that are of equal import. Jacob Stockdale replaces James Lowe, the Leinster wing, one of Ireland’s better performers in the defeat to New Zealand.
The 29-year-old Stockdale has 19 tries in 39 caps, the majority of which came in his stellar career pre-Covid pandemic, the high point a then-record breaking seven tries in Ireland’s 2018 Six Nations Grand Slam success. He played 11 Tests in the 2019-2020 season including the World Cup in Japan. Since then it’s been modest fare.
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A succession of injuries and dips in form saw him turn into a summer Test player. A single try-scoring appearance in July 2021 against Japan was the start of a long exile from international rugby that culminated when called up for 2023 World Cup warm-up games against Samoa and Italy. He was cut from the extended squad and didn’t travel to France.
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Stockdale played 49 minutes against Fiji this time last year before tearing a hamstring. He was playing superbly on the summer tour when he damaged his shoulder in the first half of the Test against Georgia in Tbilisi. He has few peers in Irish rugby when it comes to his attacking prowess and he’s worked hard on other aspects of his game, like concentration and defensive positioning.
In some respects, his situation epitomises the opportunity that several players have been handed on Saturday. Stockdale needs to be physically resilient enough to play 80 minutes of Test rugby and to remind coaches and supporters of the high-grade player he can be. It’s not about mimicking the role that James Lowe plays, it’s about being the best version of Jacob Stockdale. That will more than suffice.
Stuart McCloskey will cast a long shadow in his absence, or perhaps it’s more accurate to say his excellent performance against the All Blacks will. The big inside centre, who so often has had to be patient and bide his time, was unlucky to pick up a groin strain. Despite that, he has left both a very positive legacy from Chicago and a stiff challenge to his successor.
Robbie Henshaw has been asked to pick up the gauntlet. Bundee Aki came off the bench at Soldier Field when McCloskey limped off but it’s Henshaw who gets the nod on Saturday. It seems ludicrous to suggest the 32-year-old Lions, Ireland and Leinster centre is under pressure, but he is, as the McCloskey/Henshaw/Aki tussle for the Ireland 12 jersey has shifted on its axis.
[ Caelan Doris returns to lead much-changed Ireland team for visit of JapanOpens in new window ]
Ireland have chosen two 32-year-old centres, one making his debut, the other winning an 83rd cap. They are bound by a common goal to prove a point and justify the coach’s faith. It’s a tall Irish backline and it won’t have gone unnoticed that the Springboks enjoyed success aerially in the win over Japan.
Craig Casey, Rónan Kelleher, Thomas Clarkson and Nick Timoney are in similar situations, so too Gus McCarthy, Cian Prendergast and Caolin Blade on the bench; give it everything or give it back – the jersey that is. The change-up in personnel gives a slightly different dynamic to a game that becomes a little more interesting as a result.
