Suspended since March, Johnny Sexton will play his first competitive match against Romania this Saturday to start the Clover XV World Cup. He had not played for Ireland since the Six Nations match won against England. The Ireland captain is now only 34 points away from overtaking Ronan O’Gara (1,083) as as the best points scorer in the history of his country. For the rest of the line-up, Bundee Aki will celebrate his 50th selection alongside Garry Ringrose. Dan Sheehan, Jack Conan and Dave Kilcoyne are all out as they recover from injuries.
Le XV de l’Irlande Andrew Porter, Rob Herring, Tadhg Furlong, Joe McCarthy, James Ryan, Tadhg Beirne, Peter O’Mahony, Caelan Doris, Jamison Gibson-Park, Johnny Sexton (capitaine), James Lowe, Bundee Ali, Garry Ringrose , Keith Earls ,Hugo KeenanRemplaçants16. Ronan Kelleher17. Jeremy Loughman18. Tom O’Toole19. Iain Henderson20. Josh van der Flier21. Conor Murray22. Jack Crowley23. Robbie Henshaw