Maro Itoje keen to road test second row combo with Tadhg Beirne

RTÉ News​

6 hours ago

On Thursday, Andy Farrell admitted to playing some fantasy rugby in his head over the last few weeks, but ultimately he's found it to be a pointless venture.
The British and Irish Lions coach had been running potential Test combinations in his mind, and mapping out what his side to face the Wallabies in Brisbane on 19 July could look like, only for that to change by the day.
"You actually can't even go there because there's such good competition," Farrell said of his failed attempts to draft a Test squad. "That's how it should be."
In his time in charge of Ireland, Farrell has continually referred to the follies of "best laid plans", particularly during the 2023 Grand Slam campaign, when last minute injuries threatened to disrupt Ireland's opening games.
He may be coming into this 10-game stretch with an open mind around selection, but on Friday he'll get a first glance at two combinations which have a strong chance of being his Test starters.
With Blair Kinghorn still at Toulouse, and a chunk of his squad only joining the group on Monday after their involvements in the URC and Premiership finals last weekend, the matchday squad for Friday's tour opener against Argentina went along expected lines, but the combination of Bundee Aki and Sione Tuipulotu is one that jumped off the page.
The other area of Farrell's first starting lineup is at second row, where captain Maro Itoje and Munster's Tadhg Beirne team up in the engine room.
The pair played together on the 2021 tour of South Africa, but didn't rub shoulders as much in the second row, with Beirne used primarily as a flanker by Warren Gatland.
But having roomed together already on this camp, Itoje is looking forward to getting to know his locking partner further, both on and off the pitch.
"I'm really enjoying spending time with Tadhg," the England captain said.
"I spent a bit of time with him on the last tour. We built a good relationship and it's been amazing we've been able to continue that.
"He's a fantastic player. He has a level of physicality that's really impressive. I've been impressed with his leadership and how he is around the boys in a very calm and mature way.
"As Andy said, this is our first opportunity to set the standard that we want to be, set the kind of team that we want to be, and give, our first account of ourselves. So we've had just under two weeks of great prep. And we're excited to get going."
Itoje (above) is no stranger to the Aviva, with this being the tenth time he's played at Lansdowne Road in his career.
He's won in three of his nine previous visits to Dublin 4, although as a key member of Saracens and England teams, he's looking forward to experiencing the venue as part of the home team.
"It's going to be amazing. It's been very nice to be so warmly received in Dublin. That tends not to be the case!
"It's going to be a great spectacle. It's one the players can't wait for to be honest. We can't wait to get out there and show ourselves and others what we're about. We're looking forward to it.
"I think the big thing that we've all been trying to do is to make this group as cohesive as possible on and off the field. We've players more for four countries coming together, all have different philosophies, all play the game differently, or see the game differently, or have unique talents and attributes.
"What we want to do is make the team as tight as possible. We want to make it as cohesive, as solid as possible. If we're like that on and off the field, because off the field is arguably just as important as on it, it will flow into our rugby who will flow into the enjoyment that we want to have during this whole campaign."