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Ireland make plethora of changes for Romanian rendezvous

Published 12:46 25 Sept 2015 BST

Updated 13:24 25 Sept 2015 BST

Patrick McCarry
Ireland make plethora of changes for Romanian rendezvous

Homerugby

No start for Robbie Henshaw.

Joe Schmidt is playing a wise hand ahead of Sunday's World Cup clash with Romania [4:45pm kick-off]. The Ireland coach has made 12 changes from the starting line-up that soundly defeated Canada in their tournament opener. The only players to keep their jerseys in the XV are Keith Earls and Jamie Heaslip, who captains the side from the back of the Irish pack. Keith Earls and Jared Payne are both retained and start at left wing and outside centre, respectively. Schmidt XV Cian Healy gets his first Ireland start since he faced Scotland, at Murrayfield, in March. He is joined by Richardt Strauss and Nathan White in the front row. Devin Toner and Donnacha Ryan are second row partners while Jordi Murphy and Chris Henry come into the back row to keep Heaslip company. In the backline, Eoin Reddan and Ian Madigan are the half-back pairing, Earls and Tommy Bowe are on the wings while Simon Zebo gets the nod at fullback. Henshaw is not being risked, following recent hamstring worries, so Darren Cave starts at inside centre alongside Payne. https://twitter.com/IrishRugby/status/647376017577766912