One month after having three vertebrae fractured by France lock Pascal Papé, Jamie Heaslip is back in the Irish team.
Heaslip’s return is the only change in Joe Schmidt’s side that beat England 19-9. Jordi Murphy drops to the bench while Tommy O’Donnell is out of the squad.
Heaslip says, ‘It is not the easiest of things, watching from the sidelines and being held on a leash, probably for me own good… I’m delighted to be back and representing my country.’
Up front, Jack McGrath is retained at loose-head and starts in the front row with Rory Best and Mike Ross. Ireland captain Paul O’Connell starts in the second row with Devin Toner. Heaslip has Peter O’Mahony and Sean O’Brien in the back row for company.
Conor Murray and Johnny Sexton are the half backs while the rest of the backline remains unchanged for the fourth game in a row.
Replacements: Sean Cronin, Cian Healy, Marty Moore, Iain Henderson, Jordi Murphy, Eoin Reddan, Ian Madigan, Felix Jones.
