Paul O’Connell has been named as the new Ireland captain, but won’t start this Saturday’s game against Samoa.
With O’Connell on the bench, Jamie Heaslip is set to captain the side this weekend after Joe Schmidt revealed that Brian O’Driscoll had asked to be ruled out of the running for the captaincy.
Jonathan Sexton will miss this Saturday’s game with a hip injury, which means that Paddy Jackson will start at out-half, with Ian Madigan on the bench alongside O’Connell and Sean O’Brien.
Leinster prop Jack McGrath will make his test debut after being named in the front-row, while Dave Kearney could also make his first Ireland appearance off the bench.
