Who would you go with for the opener against Scotland?
You could make a decent fist of predicting Ireland’s starting XV for the Six Nations opener against Scotland on February 4.
With Johnny Sexton’s calf injury said to be no more than some bad bruising that was aggravated against Castres, 12 of the 15 starting positions should be locked in.
What we are unsure of are the positions of lock, openside and, at a push, fullback. Robbie Henshaw and Garry Ringrose have yet to start a Test match in midfield together but their burgeoning partnership and recent form in the green jersey means they will start at 12 and 13 in Murrayfield.
Lock
Who to partner Devin Toner? There are three live candidates and 31-year-old Billy Holland has had his best season yet in a Munster jersey.
Donnacha Ryan would appear to be the favourite after his two excellent outings against the All Blacks but Iain Henderson was brought in for a go against the Australians and performed manfully.
Ultan Dillane would be hoping to press for a starting spot but he will be over a month without game-time by the championship starts.
Our pick: Henderson with Dillane on the bench.
Openside
In the November Series, Schmidt started with Jordi Murphy, Sean O’Brien [Canada and New Zealand] and Josh van der Flier.
Murphy is out for the rest of the season so it looks likely that Schmidt will choose between his Leinster teammates. O’Brien’s last competitive outing was when Leinster sauntered to a Squillion-0 victory over a disheartened rabble known as Zebre. He has a calf injury but is fit enough for inclusion in Schmidt’s squad.
Dan Leavy, Jack Conan and Peter O’Mahony are the other options.
Our pick: Van der Flier with O’Mahony on the bench.
Fullback
Rob Kearney had a game for the ages against the All Blacks in Chicago yet was successfully targeted for a couple of tries. The Kiwis steered clear of high balls in his wheel-house in the return and he limped off injured against the Aussies.
Kearney is the favourite to start fullback against the Scots but Tiernan O’Halloran is making a fantastic case for himself. The Connacht man has the most metres gained for carries in the Champions Cup and Guinness PRO12. While the westerners have struggled to keep up the pace of last season, O’Halloran has taken his performances on from that sparkling 2015/16.
Simon Zebo is having a flyer in Munster’s 15 jersey while Andrew Conway can also fill in there if needed.
Our pick: Kearney.
