Talking points as Ireland begin two-Test tour

With Ireland head coach Andy Farrell, as well as 16 of his players and the coaching ticket's attack, defence and scrum specialists, with the British and Irish Lions in Australia, it is an almost unrecognisable squad that will take on Georgia in Tbilisi on Saturday and Portugal in Lisbon seven days later.

While the two Test matches are relatively low-key affairs when compared to trips to New Zealand and South Africa in recent summers, the third ranked side in the world's large Lions contingent has ensured there are some intriguing storylines to keep an eye on over the next two weekends.

Even before his playing career came to an end almost 10 years ago, Paul O'Connell felt like an Irish head coach in waiting. The absence of Andy Farrell for this trip gives him his first opportunity to lead the side he represented on 108 occasions.

Such is the youthful nature of his summer squad, centre Stuart McCloskey is the only player in the panel who played with or against the Munster legend.

Ireland arrived in Georgia on Wednesday with 13 uncapped players in their number after Ulster prop Scott Wilson was added to the squad just before departure.

Wing Tommy O'Brien and second row Darragh Murray will make their debuts against Georgia, while the uncapped Michael Milne, Jack Aungier, Tom Ahern and Ben Murphy are all on the bench.

Farrell has previously spoken cautiously about the idea of simply handing out international caps although this tour has a different feel with interim attack coach Mike Prendergast saying last week it "would be the intention" to have all of the tourists get game-time across the two Tests.

These results do matter, though. They are two of just six games to be played by Ireland before the 2027 World Cup draw is staged in December with the seedings to be based upon world rankings at that point.

The 2025 Six Nations brought the curtain down on the long and distinguished Test careers of Peter O'Mahony, Conor Murray and Cian Healy.

The trio have been a mainstay of the international panel for over a decade and earned a combined 376 caps in green. Indeed, nobody in history played more for Ireland than Healy.

Their retirements, which in the case of Murray is solely from the international game, offer up opportunities for others to crack what has been a relatively settled matchday panel.

Leinster's Jack Boyle had already been putting pressure on Healy after the 23-year-old made his debut against Wales in the Six Nations, and will be in pole position, but Munster's Michael Milne and Paddy McCarthy, who is the younger brother of British and Irish Lions lock Joe McCarthy, will also be keen to grab their opportunities to impress.

Coupled with the form of Jamison Gibson-Park, Munster's Craig Casey, who missed the Six Nations through injury, had already largely edged ahead of Murray for both province and the Test side.

The 26-year-old will step up to captain Ireland for the first time on this tour but will be backed up the uncapped pair of Ben Murphy and Nathan Doak, with the former named on the bench against Georgia.

With usual skipper Caelan Doris injured, and Jack Conan and Josh van der Flier away with the Lions, plenty of back rows figure to be handed the chance to stake a claim to step up in O'Mahony's absence.

While Ryan Baird would appear to have a head start start, and starts at blind-side on Saturday, the likes of Max Deegan, Nick Timoney and Gavin Coombes will all look to transfer impressive provincial form to the Test game after stop-start international careers.

From the moment Leinster's Sam Prendegast was named to start against Australia in November, the 22-year-old has been at the centre of the fiercest debate in Irish rugby.

When Johnny Sexton retired after the 2023 World Cup, it was Munster's Jack Crowley who was given first crack at establishing himself as the former world player of the year's long-term successor.

Crowley largely impressed as Ireland won the Six Nations Grand Slam in 2024 but, by the end of the calendar year, had appeared to cede the jersey to the young challenger.

Leinster's Prendergast started the first four games of the 2025 Six Nations, although the more experienced player got the nod for the concluding game against Italy in Rome.

Ireland have not had such a back and forth for their fly-half berth since Sexton began to challenge Ronan O'Gara almost 15 years ago and every selection is scrutinised by the public, a situation only heightened by provincial rivalries.

Despite a few shaky moments for Leinster during the domestic season's conclusion, Prendergast is back at 10 against Georgia with Crowley named on the bench and there will be plenty of interest in how the minutes are shared across the two games.

With Ireland having drawn from largely the same pool for the past number of years for their matchday squads, it is natural that plenty of attention will be devoted to those with little or no international experience on this trip.

There are a few others, though, who are looking to offer a reminder of what they can do at this level. Chief among them, the squad's most capped player - Jacob Stockdale.

It was during a Lions tour, when the invitational side was in New Zealand eight years ago, that Ulster wing Stockdale made a try-scoring international debut against the USA.

His first 18 months as an international included setting a record for tries in a single Six Nations campaign, since bettered by France's Louis Bielle-Biarrey only this year, and an unforgettable score to clinch Ireland's first-ever win on home soil against the All Blacks.

Injuries, some questions over his defence, and the qualification on residency of Leinster's James Lowe, have ensured the 29-year-old has been a more peripheral figure in recent times, making only three international appearances in the past four years.

Still, it is worth remembering that only five men have ever scored more tries for Ireland and, after a strong season for his province, Stockdale will relish the chance to offer a reminder of his talents in the green jersey.

Cian Healy is not the only experienced front row campaigner to be absent this summer.

With the 37-year-old retired, and Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, Ronan Kelleher, Tadhg Furlong and Finlay Bealham all with the Lions, Ireland will be without their first and second-choice units from recent seasons.

As a result, Saturday's Test against a muscular Georgian side will provide a thorough examination of Ireland's depth in a position recently considered so stretched that performance director David Humphreys placed a temporary ban on imported front row signings.

The emergence of Leinster trio Boyle, Gus McCarthy and Tom Clarkson during the 2024-25 season has eased those fears somewhat and it is those three who start together on Saturday.

Against a Georgian side historically renowned for their scrummaging prowess, and coached by former England hooker Richard Cockerill, the inexperienced visiting group will face a serious test of their mettle.

Given their desire to show they belong at Europe's top table, the hosts will be baying for a scalp with the set-piece an area sure to be a target. Those that show they can handle the challenge are sure to impress O'Connell and, with November in mind, Farrell too.