Andy Farrell can't wait to see Mack Hansen in action after handing the Connacht man a first ever international start at full-back against Australia.
The versatile Hansen, who will come up against his native country, in Saturday’s Test at Aviva Stadium, has 28 caps, all coming on the wing.
The 27-year-old went on the British and Irish Lions tour last summer but a foot injury prevented him playing any part in the Tests against the Wallabies.
He returned to action with Connacht in round four of the URC but suffered another foot injury that subsequently ruled him out of Ireland's games against New Zealand and Japan.
With Hugo Keenan and Jamie Osborne both injured, Hansen, who started 11 clubs games in the 15 shirt since making his Connacht debut in 2021, gets the nod.
Farrell, who made nine changes to the side that beat the Brave Blossoms, said: "I think he was in great form, certainly within the Lions series, I mean, wow, I hadn't seen him in better form actually.
"Then obviously the foot injury stopped that progress.
"But I think he's got the bit between his teeth as far as what he learnt on that tour.
"He played his last game at 15 [for Connacht] as well.
"Coming back into the group, he came in on Sunday night, got across his work Sunday and Monday and then trained the house down on Tuesday.
"He's proved to, not just to us, the coaching staff, but to everyone else that he's up for this, and ready and able.
"I suppose as well, every single time that Mack's played for us as a winger, he's always covered full-back, he's always been able to get across the work there, so we get to see that in action."
After winning his first cap against the All Blacks in Chicago and scoring off the bench against Japan, loosehead prop Paddy McCarthy, younger brother of injured lock Joe, has earned a first start.
"His temperament has been excellent," said Farrell, whose side sit third in the World Rugby rankings.
"Not just how he's handled... Chicago would have been massive for him as far as a debut is concerned.
"The age he's at and up against the team he played his debut against and then backing that up is always hard when you're on a come down from a debut.
"But how he handled the week last week was excellent.
"He came on and he didn't just fit in, he added to the group.
"So I think this is an ideal window for him and a few others to see how they manage a bit of continuity within how they play, whether it's win or lose, how they review, recover, and then deal with getting back up to the crescendo that's going to be Saturday night.
"He deserves his start and we're looking forward to seeing how he goes."
Sam Prendergast is selected at out-half, having served as a replacement for Jack Crowley in the last two internationals.
The 22-year-old Leinster back will win his 12th cap.
"He deserves a start," said Farrell.
"Jack's done some good stuff and had three weeks there in the driving seat as far as preparation is concerned.
"We know that the 10s tend to run the week.
"Giving Sam an opportunity within a big game is pretty important to him, and to Jack as well.
"He came on and played pretty well so giving him the opportunity to hold the reins on Saturday night is the one that we've gone with."
Of the multiple changes, Farrell, who confirmed Josh van der Flier and Garry Ringrose weren’t considered due to injury, added: "There's always a plan. Plans always change, whether it be subtly or quite a bit.
"Obviously, there was a lot of change within the side last week, so you would have thought that that was always going to be the case at this stage of the season, with the four games being back-to-back and the three big Southern Hemisphere teams that we're up against.
"There was always going to be a little bit of juggling."
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