After Ireland's miserable defeat by France in Paris, head coach Andy Farrell is facing calls to shake up his selection for Italy's visit to Dublin on Saturday.
After Ireland's miserable Six Nations defeat by France in Paris, head coach Andy Farrell is facing calls to shake up his selection for Italy's visit to Dublin on Saturday.
However, speaking on the Ireland Rugby Social, former Ireland stars Conor Murray and Rob Kearney said they do not expect Farrell to make wholesale changes as he attempts to breathe new life into a deflated camp.
"I still think he goes as strong as he possibly can [for the Italy game]," said Murray, who won the Grand Slam in 2023 under Farrell.
"It's now an even bigger game than it was going to be. I don't think Andy changes too much. He won't be feeling 'the boys went well against France', let's trial a few lads. That's never really been the case. One or two areas maybe.
"You talk about Hugo [Keenan] and Mack [Hansen] and these guys that are missing, they're such key ballplayers in that system. Do you bring in new guys? Do you change Jamie [Osborne] for someone at full-back or does Jamie go again?
Kearney echoed Murray's sentiment by predicting a "pretty similar" line-up to face the Azzurri, who opened their campaign with victory over Scotland in Rome on Saturday.
"I think he goes same," he said.
"It'll be a damaging game for the feelgood factor, the psyche and the mentality of this team.
"As a coach you want to be like 'everybody just settle down, we haven't become a really bad team overnight'. Let's get back to winning ways and start putting our own footprint back on to the game."
Category: General Sports
