RTÉ rugby analyst Donal Lenihan is hoping to see some of Ireland’s young guns get their chance in the big games of the November international series.
Ireland take on South Africa, Fiji and Argentina in Dublin in November and Lenihan is hoping that head coach Joe Schmidt uses these games to give younger players some experience of playing against Southern Hemisphere teams.
Young Irish players like Jacob Stockdale, Jack Conan, Jordan Larmour and Alex Wootton are all making an impact at PRO14 level and Lenihan wants to see them shine on the international stage.
Speaking on 2fm’s Game On about building up the Irish squad, he said: "It was the goal immediately after the 2015 World Cup when all those injuries Ireland had going into the quarter-final against Argentina ultimately proved that the strength and depth Joe Schmidt thought was there, wasn’t actually there.
"The process in terms of strengthening the squad started two years ago and it’s a question now of having integrated some of those young players against Tier 2 opposition, at what time do you make the hard to play them in the front line internationals?
"I was reading there recently that Leinster have 28 capped Irish internationals. That’s excluding Scott Fardy and Isa Nacewa but it shows the number of younger players that Joe Schmidt has capped since the last World Cup."
While Lenihan is pleased to see young players being given their first Irish caps, he wants to see them thrown in at the deep end against the bigger teams and is hoping that Schmidt will have some new faces in his side to take on South Africa.
"With three Autumn internationals you’re looking at South Africa, Fiji and Argentina. The easy thing is to throw a lot of these guys in against Fiji, it’s making the decision to give them an opportunity against South Africa.
"I think that’s what differentiates us from New Zealand, who have never been shy about throwing in younger players or inexperienced players against Tier 1 nations. Whereas we’ve often take the easier option of doing it in the lesser games."
