(Reuters) -Ireland hooker Ronan Kelleher has been passed fit to face New Zealand in their Autumn international opener in Dublin on Friday, but prop Tadhg Furlong will miss the clash due to injury as coach Andy Farrell named his team on Wednesday.
Finlay Bealham will scrum down at tighthead in place of Furlong, with Tom O’Toole among the replacements.
“He (Furlong) had a bit of a hamstring strain coming into camp,” Farrell told reporters. “Unfortunately, it has not healed in time, so rather than push too hard, we will take our time with it.
“We will see if he can play next week (against Argentina), we can’t say at this point.”
Kelleher has overcome an ankle problem, which will be a relief to Farrell with Dan Sheehan missing through injury. The experienced Andrew Porter makes up the front row on the loosehead side.
Joe McCarthy and James Ryan are the lock pairing, with Tadhg Beirne and Josh van der Flier the two flankers, and new captain Caelan Doris at number eight.
“He is popular among the group, there is no ego whatsoever. He is diligent about getting his own stuff right. He is very comfortable in his own skin,” Farrell said
There are several returning backline players from Ireland’s last outing, a narrow victory over South Africa in Durban in July, including a trio of New Zealand-born players.
Jamison Gibson-Park is back at scrumhalf to partner number 10 Jack Crowley, while Bundee Aki and Garry Ringrose make up the centre pairing.
Fullback Hugo Keenan, and wingers Mack Hansen and James Lowe make up the back three.
“I am really pleased with the effort of the squad across the week’s training camp in Portugal,” Farrell said.
“You get a limited amount of time to prepare for the start of any international campaign, so the focus has been on getting up to speed and where we can improve our own game.”
Ireland’s previous meeting with New Zealand was last year’s Rugby World Cup quarter-final that was won 28-24 by the All Blacks in Paris.
Team:
15-Hugo Keenan, 14-Mack Hansen, 13-Garry Ringrose, 12-Bundee Aki, 11-James Lowe, 10-Jack Crowley, 9-Jamison Gibson-Park, 8-Caelan Doris (captain), 7- Josh van der Flier, 6-Tadhg Beirne, 5-James Ryan, 4-Joe McCarthy, 3-Finlay Bealham, 2-Ronan Kelleher, 1-Andrew Porter
Replacements: 16-Rob Herring, 17-Cian Healy, 18-Tom O’Toole, 19-Iain Henderson, 20-Peter O’Mahony, 21-Conor Murray, 22-Ciaran Frawley, 23-Jamie Osborne.
(Reporting by Nick Said,Editing by Christian Radnedge and Ed Osmond)
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