Ireland take on Samoa in their final Rugby World Cup warm-up match in Bayonne on Saturday evening.
After wins over Italy and England, Ireland are nursing a handful of injuries but the overall squad prognosis is good with Andy Farrell indicating that Dan Sheehan, Jack Conan, Dave Kilcoyne and Rónan Kelleher will be fit for selection.
The Ireland head coach will name his 33-man squad for the tournament on Sunday afternoon.
The match, at Stade Jean Dauger, kicks off at 7.45pm Irish time.
TV
Ireland v Samoa is live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Coverage begins at 7.15pm.
RADIO
Listen to live commentary on RTÉ Radio 1 Extra.
ONLINE
Follow a live blog on RTE.ie/sport and the RTÉ News App followed by report, reaction and player ratings
WEATHER
There is a thunderstorm warning in the area over the weekend, while it's forecast to be cloudy with showers during the game. Temperatures around 18C, humidity 85% and gusts of around 24kph.
The perceived wisdom doing the rounds is that Andy Farrell has already, injury-permitting, nailed down his 33-man squad and this outing against Samoa, ranked 12th in the world, is to get minutes into players who will be on the flight back to France next Thursday.
Farrell, making his first appearance at a World Cup as head coach, will name his squad Sunday afternoon.
This selection, with Keith Earls and Stuart McCloskey notable inclusions, suggests that the two backs are in favour, and that Ciarán Frawley and Jacob Stockdale may miss out.
Tom Stewart, the Ulster hooker making his full debut, is getting minutes under his belt, it's reckoned, so that in the event that Dan Sheehan or Rónan Kelleher recover slower than expected, he’s up to speed and already tested in an international environment.
Otherwise, there is a sprinkling of those who would be considered starters in a match-up against South Africa or Scotland, with Mack Hansen, Robbie Henshaw, Tadhg Beirne, Josh van der Flier and Caelan Doris all named.
James Ryan, Peter O’Mahony and Garry Ringrose are on the bench.
Samoa boss Seilala Mapusua has named a strong panel to face the Six Nations champions with former New Zealand out-half Lima Sopoaga making his full Test debut.
Thorn in the side of Leinster UJ Seuteni of La Rochelle is in the centre.
Also included are former Ulster and Australia back Christian Leali'ifano and Leinster prop Michael Ala’alatoa, both on the bench.
Watch out for backs Duncan Paia'aua and Tumua Manu, who each made three line breaks in the Pacific Nations Cup.
It’s Samoa’s fifth match of the summer and they have beaten two of Ireland’s Pool B opponents, Romania (22-0) and Tonga (34-9), as well as Japan (24-22).
They lost to Fiji (33-19) and last week beat the Barbarians (28-14) in a non-cap match.
Samoa, who qualified as Oceania 1, are in Pool D at the World Cup where they will face England, Japan, Argentina and Chile. They have also drafted in Leinster coach Andrew Goodman to help with their campaign.
Ireland have met Samoa seven times to date, with a solitary loss coming 1996, a 40-25 reversal at Lansdowne Road.
The most recent clash came at the World Cup in 2019 when Ireland, who had Bundee Aki sent off in the 29th minute, ran out 47-5 winners.
Victory would bring Ireland's winning streak to a record 13 Tests, while they have won each of their last seven outings by 13 points or more, most recently the 29-10 win over England last weekend.
Ireland: Jimmy O'Brien; Mack Hansen, Robbie Henshaw, Stuart McCloskey, Keith Earls; Jack Crowley, Conor Murray; Cian Healy, Tom Stewart, Finlay Bealham; Iain Henderson (capt), Tadhg Beirne; Ryan Baird, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris.
Replacements: Rob Herring, Jeremy Loughman, Tom O'Toole, James Ryan, Peter O'Mahony, Craig Casey, Ross Byrne, Garry Ringrose.
Samoa: Duncan Paia'aua; Ed Fidow, UJ Seuteni, Tumua Manu, Nigel Ah Wong; Lima Sopoaga, Jonathan Taumateine; James Lay, Seilala Lam, Paul Alo-Emile; Chris Vui (co-capt), Theo McFarland; Taleni Seu, Fritz Lee, Steven Luatua.
Replacements: Sama Malolo, Jordan Lay, Michael Ala'alatoa (co-capt), Miracle Fai'ilagi, Jordan Taufua, Ereatara Enari, Christian Leali'ifano, Neria Foma'i.
Referee: Wayne Barnes (RFU)
WHAT THEY SAID
Andy Farrell (Ireland head coach): "There's no [specific] message, the messages have been over the last 10 weeks of how we prepare to be the best team you possibly can be, how you adjust and adapt to that is the pressure of playing top level rugby so they know that and they’ll push forward with that in mind."
Seilala Mapusua (Samoa head coach): "We're in a good place in terms of we’ve had a bit of time together now. Having quality coaches in our set-up has meant that we’ve been able to build over the last two, three years, which is a big change from the last World Cup where the last head coach came in less than 12 months before."
LAST FIVE MEETINGS
Ireland 47-5 Samoa (Fukuoka Hakatanamori Stadium) 12 October, 2019 - Rugby World Cup
Ireland 40-9 Samoa (Aviva Stadium) 9 November, 2013 - November international
Ireland 20-10 Samoa (Aviva Stadium) November 13, 2010 - November international
Samoa 14-40 Ireland (Apia Park) June 20, 2003 - Summer tour
Ireland 35-8 Samoa (Lansdowne Rd) November 11, 2001 - November international
The weekend's action gets under way on Friday night with the heavyweight clash of South Africa and New Zealand in Twickenham (7.30pm).
England host Fiji at the same venue tomorrow (3.15pm), Scotland host Georgia, and Italy welcome Japan with both games kicking off at 5.30pm Irish time.
Argentina are in Spain for a 7.45pm kick-off, while Sunday sees Australia taking on France at the Stade de France (4.45pm).
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