Ireland Head Coach Andy Farrell has named an unchanged starting XV for the World Cup quarterfinal clash against New Zealand from the team named for last weekend’s 36-14 defeat of Scotland in Pool B. The All Blacks are expected to name their starting XV on Thursday.
Winger Mack Hansen has been passed fit to play for the Irish.
"He obviously had a few things to do at the beginning of the week but he's coming good and everyone's very confident that he’s going to be fine for the game, no problem,” Farrell said, according to RTE.
The team is as follows: Hugo Keenan; Mack Hansen, Garry Ringrose, Bundee Aki, James Lowe; Jonathan Sexton (captain), Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong; Tadgh Beirne, Iain Henderson; Peter O'Mahony, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris.
The eight replacements are: Ronan Kelleher, Dave Kilcoyne, Finlay Bealham, Joe McCarthy, Jack Conan, Conor Murray, Jack Crowley, Jimmy O’Brien.
A wrist injury has kept second-row forward James Ryan out of the 23, with Ulster’s Iain Henderson once again taking his place.
“We expect him as well to be fit for next week if we are able to get that far," Farrell added about Ryan.
Joe McCarthy is now back in the replacements, while the previously injured Jimmy O'Brien replaces Stuart McCloskey.
The head coach indicated that Keith Earls and Robbie Henshaw have made progress with their hamstring issues and will in contention later in the tournament, if Ireland’s progress continues.
Six of Irish team that lost the 2019 quarter-final to the All Blacks in Tokyo start again in 2023: Ringrose, Sexton, Porter, Henderson, O'Mahony and Van der Flier, while Beirne, Porter and Kilcoyne were involved from the bench on that day.
HUGHTON STATESIDE
In other sports news, Sean Creedon reports, former Irish soccer international Chris Hughton, who is one of the favorites to replace Stephen Kenny as Irish manager, is in the USA next week for two games with the Ghana national team. Ghana will play Mexico in Charlotte, North Carolina on Sunday next and the USA at Geodis Park in Nashville on Oct. 18. Ghana have twice knocked the United States out of World Cups in 2006 and 2010. Hughton, who will be 65 in December, has managed his old club Spurs on a caretaker basis and has also managed Newcastle United, Birmingham City, Norwich, Brighton and Notts Forest. He was appointed Head Coach of Ghana back in February.
KEANE, DELAP
FLEE ISRAEL
Meanwhile Robbie Keane and Rory Delap fled Israel on Saturday in the aftermath of the attack from Palestinian militant group Hamas. The Maccabi Tel Aviv manager, along with assistant, reportedly spent hours in a panic room before eventually making it to safety in Greece. Fighting between Israel and Hamas has left hundreds dead in what is the conflict’s bloodiest escalation in years. Keane took the manager’s job with Maccabi in June and faced criticism for taking on the role given the political situation in the country. Maccabi, who are top of the Israeli Premier Division after five games, were due to play Hapoel Jerusalem on Sunday, but all matches in the region were postponed.
BREWERS’ OWNER GETS
40PC CANARIES STAKE
English Championship club Norwich City has given the go ahead to American businessman Mark Attanasio to increase his share in the club to 40 percent. That will mean the 69-year old from the Bronx, who also owns the Milwaukee Brewers, will have the same number of shares as celebrity TV cook Delia Smith, who is 82 and her husband Michael Wynn-Jones. Attanasio will have first refusal should Delia and her husband decide to sell their shares in the next three years and he seems certain to become the sole owner of the Canaries.
URUGUAY TO OPEN
2030 WORLD CUP
Spain, Portugal and Morocco are set to co-host the 2030 men’s World Cup, with three South American nations staging the opening matches to mark the tournament’s centenary. Montevideo in Uruguay, the city which hosted the first World Cup finals match in 1930, is poised to stage the opening contest in seven years’ time with games in Argentina and Paraguay to follow. The rest of the 48-team tournament will then move to north Africa and Europe, under a proposal from UEFA, the Confederation of African Football and South American confederation CONMEBOL which was accepted by the FIFA council at a meeting last week.
ROONEY IS
OUT AT DC
Wayne Rooney has left his role as coach of Major League Soccer side DC United by mutual consent after they missed out on the MLS Cup play-offs. Manchester United’s record goal scorer took up the role with the DC United in July 2022.He had previously spent 18 months at the club as a player before he joined Derby County as player-coach in January 2020. Rooney said: ‘‘It's the right time. I have done everything I can to get this club into the play-offs.’’
MANAGER’S WIFE
INSISTED ON UTD.
The death occurred last week of Lady Cathy Ferguson, wife of Sir Alex Ferguson. Cathy, who had a huge influence on her husband’s managerial moves, was 84. Cathy Holding met Alex in 1964 when they were both working in a typewriter factory and they were married in 1966. Were it not for Cathy’s intervention, Ferguson might well have ended up as manager of Spurs and not Manchester United. The Spurs directors were keen on Ferguson, but Cathy was not keen on a move to London. Cathy is said to have played a key role in persuading Alex not to retire in 2002. Ferguson revealed previously that he would have continued as United manager at Old Trafford beyond the end of the 2012/13 season were it not for the death of Cathy’s twin sister Bridget.
