Ireland team named for Six Nations opener

The Ireland coaching group have named the team to take on Wales at the Principality Stadium in Sunday's first round of the 2021 Guinness Six Nations Championship. Rob Herring starts at hooker, while Billy Burns is in line for his first Six Nations appearances off the bench. Iain Henderson is also included among the replacements as he makes his return from injury. Johnny Sexton will captain the side as he competes in his twelfth Six Nations Championship and his second as Ireland captain. He is joined in the half-backs by Conor Murray who is one of five players from the match day squad who played in Ireland’s last Six Nations victory in Cardiff in 2013 (Murray, Sexton, Healy, O’Mahony, Earls). Robbie Henshaw and Garry Ringrose are partnered in midfield having last started a Test match together in the quarter-final of the 2019 Rugby World Cup. Hugo Keenan is selected at fullback with support on the wings from Keith Earls and James Lowe, who makes his Six Nations debut. Cian Healy, who makes his 50th Six Nations appearance, is joined in the front row by Herring and Andrew Porter. Tadhg Beirne and James Ryan form the lock partnership with Peter O’Mahony, Josh van der Flier and CJ Stander named in the backrow. The replacements are Ronan Kelleher, Dave Kilcoyne, Tadhg Furlong, Henderson, Will Connors, Jamison Gibson Park, Burns and Jordan Larmour. The game kicks off at 3pm on Sunday and will be televised on Virgin in the Republic of Ireland and on BBC in Northern Ireland. Ireland team to play Wales – Sunday 7th February, 2021 2021 Guinness 6 Nations Championships 15. Hugo Keenan (Leinster/UCD) 6 caps 14. Keith Earls (Munster/Young Munster) 88 caps 13. Garry Ringrose (Leinster/UCD) 30 caps 12. Robbie Henshaw (Leinster/Buccaneers) 47 caps 11. James Lowe (Leinster) 2 caps 10. Jonathan Sexton (Leinster/St Mary’s College) 95 caps CAPTAIN 9. Conor Murray (Munster/Garryowen) 87 caps 1. Cian Healy (Leinster/Clontarf) 104 caps 2. Rob Herring (Ulster/Ballynahinch) 16 caps 3. Andrew Porter (Leinster/UCD) 32 caps 4. Tadhg Beirne (Munster/Lansdowne) 17 caps 5. James Ryan (Leinster/UCD) 32 caps 6. Peter O’Mahony (Munster/Cork Constitution) 73 caps 7. Josh van der Flier (Leinster/UCD) 28 caps 8. CJ Stander (Munster/Shannon) 46 caps Replacements 16. Ronan Kelleher (Leinster/Lansdowne) 6 caps 17. Dave Kilcoyne (Munster/UL Bohemians) 39 caps 18. Tadhg Furlong (Leinster/Clontarf) 44 caps 19. Iain Henderson (Ulster/Academy) 58 caps 20. Will Connors (Leinster/UCD) 5 caps 21. Jamison Gibson Park (Leinster) 5 caps 22. Billy Burns (Ulster) 3 caps 23. Jordan Larmour (Leinster/St Mary’s College) 24 caps