Luke Fitzgerald starts in Ireland's midfield against Canada
Saturday 19 September 2015 15:12, UK
Ireland have named Luke Fitzgerald at inside centre for Saturday's World Cup opener against Canada.
Fitzgerald has been given the nod ahead of Darren Cave after Robbie Henshaw was ruled with a hamstring injury.
The Leinster utility back's inclusion is one of four changes made by head coach Joe Schmidt to the side beaten at Twickenham in their final World Cup warm-up.
Rob Kearney returns at full-back after recovering from a knee complaint, with brother Dave switching to the right wing at the expense of Tommy Bowe.
Keith Earls is preferred to Simon Zebo on the other wing while scrum-half Conor Murray has recovered from the concussion suffered against England.
Iain Henderson will partner skipper Paul O'Connell in the second row as Devin Toner misses out, while Cian Healy is named on the bench after recovering from neck surgery.
Meanwhile, Jamie Cudmore will skipper Canada for the first time at a World Cup after Tyler Ardon failed to recover from a knee injury.
The Clermont veteran, who is appearing at his fourth World Cup, partners Brett Beukeboom in the second row.
Scottish-born Gordon McRorie and Nathan Hirayama form the half-back partnership, while Scarlets and Ospreys wings DTH van der Merwe and Jeff Hassler are named alongside Cornish Pirates full-back Matt Evans in the back three.
Hassler is one of eight players in the starting XV to be making their World Cup debuts, while Cudmore is featuring at his fourth tournament.
