Ireland will look to kick start their Six Nations Championship against Italy this weekend with a team that sees just two changes from that which began the meltdown at Murrayfield. That means 13 players will be relieved to have held onto their starting shirt. Robbie Henshaw confirmed earlier in the week that the video review was brutal and if Joe Schmidt's reputation is anything to go by few were spared.
Both changes are in the pack, where Jack McGrath makes way for Cian Healy at loose head prop and the fit again Donnacha Ryan returns to take the place of Iain Henderson in the second row. We are told Henderson suffered a hamstring injury during the week. The Ulsterman used his brute force to score Ireland's second try against Scotland, but the team can't afford another poor day at the line out. Ryan will be a big help in that department.
McGrath and Healy have been locked in a battle for the number 1 shirt at both Leinster and Ireland for some time now. Joe Schmidt says he had always planned to rotate the players for these two fixtures. However, McGrath was the first choice for all of last year's Six Nations games, November's two tests against the All Blacks and the win over the Wallabies. Like many others his performance against Scotland was below par and it has led to a first Six Nations start for Cian Healy in almost two years.
There has been a lot of debate over Ireland's poor defensive performance in the first half last week, but Schmidt is particularly unhappy that after half time, chances to win the game weren't taken:
"The biggest disappointment for me is not the start, it's the finish, and it's the finishing. I felt there were definite opportunities from close to the line, from overlaps that we created and balls which went into touch on the full. That for us is the unforgivable stuff."
This begs the question, why no changes in the back line? Tommy Bowe had a poor cameo late on at Murrayfield. He will be on Ulster duty this week, with Craig Gilroy taking his place on the bench. Schmidt says Ireland will benefit from Paddy Jackson, Robbie Henshaw and Garry Ringrose getting another outing in the 10, 12 and 13 axis, but with Johnny Sexton and Jared Payne injured, he does he have any realistic options to replace them. Similarly with the back three and Peter O'Mahony still injured it is hard to see how the back row could have been improved.
It seems the changes that Schmidt has made to this Ireland team to face Italy have come in the areas where we are strong. Where the Kiwi cannot affect change, he has left things alone. It suggests Ireland's strength in depth is not as strong as we had hoped.
