Ireland pick Paddy Jackson at fly-half for first Test against South Africa
Thursday 9 June 2016 17:14, UK
Ireland coach Joe Schmidt has named Paddy Jackson at fly-half for Saturday's first Test against South Africa at Newlands.
The Ulster No 10 will fill the void left by Johnny Sexton's shoulder injury after he was selected ahead of Ian Madigan for the opening match of the three-Test tour in Cape Town.
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Jackson made his international debut as a 20-year-old against Scotland during the 2013 Six Nations and has collected 13 caps since, but this will be his first start since the World Cup warm-up against Wales last August.
Schmidt has, though, been impressed with Jackson in training and is confident he has the ability to fill in for Sexton.
"He's slotted in really well," Schmidt said. "I think that he's bided his time, he's been in camp a lot when Johnny's been in camp so he's seen Johnny kind of dictating the game, he has been the conductor of the orchestra and we're confident that Paddy can step up and do a similar job.
"I think he's got big boots to fill, but I think his feet will slot in quite nicely."
Jackson's Ulster team-mate Jared Payne will make his first start for Ireland at full-back after being moved from outside centre, where he has won his previous 14 caps, after Rob Kearney and Simon Zebo were both ruled out.
Robbie Henshaw moves to outside centre with Luke Marshall picked at No 12.
Hooker and captain Rory Best will lead a forward pack that includes South Africa-born flanker CJ Stander, who will play against his country of birth for the first time.
Stander was once rated as a Springboks prospect before leaving to play in Ireland in 2012.
There are two changes in the pack from the eight that started in the 35-25 Six Nations victory over Scotland on March 19 with lock Iain Henderson and flanker Jordi Murphy the newcomers in place of Donnacha Ryan and Tommy O'Donnell.
Ireland last toured South Africa in 2004, losing by 14 points in Bloemfontein and nine in Cape Town. After Newlands, the Irish play Tests in Johannesburg on June 18 and in Port Elizabeth on June 25.
Schmidt says he wants his team to put together a performance that will allow them to compete in the three-game series.
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"We're hoping to get something to build on, a platform to build on to try to put some things together that give us a little bit of confidence going forward," he said.
"You're never going to be in a situation where everything works and transitions are seamless. You're always going to have things to work out after that first Test.
"There's a number of new personnel and we're just hoping that we get enough confidence this weekend that we continue to build through the series."
Ireland: 15 Jared Payne, 14 Andrew Trimble, 13 Robbie Henshaw, 12 Luke Marshall, 11 Keith Earls, 10 Paddy Jackson, 9 Conor Murray; 1 Jack McGrath, 2 Rory Best (c), 3 Mike Ross, 4 Iain Henderson, 5 Devin Toner, 6 CJ Stander, 7 Jordi Murphy, 8 Jamie Heaslip.
Replacements: 16 Sean Cronin, 17 Finlay Bealham, 18 Tadhg Furlong, 19 Ultan Dillane, 20 Rhys Ruddock, 21 Kieran Marmion, 22 Ian Madigan, 23 Craig Gilroy.
Watch Ireland v South Africa live on Sky Sports 1 HD from 3.30pm on Saturday.
