Why emerging Ireland tour is vital step on road to World Cup
The whole project will have a distinctly off-Broadway vibe. The British and Irish Lions tour will be grabbing the majority of the media attention. Save for a small travelling press corps, an inexperienced coaching team and a largely youthful squad won't be under much scrutiny.
It lends to a more relaxed atmosphere. Things happen on these tours which would never transpire during a summer series in the southern hemisphere, the Six Nations or the autumn internationals. The Ireland team with IRFU President Declan Madden. Pic: INPHO/Ben Brady
In the midst of the 2017 tour of the US and Japan, a group of Irish journalists were left stranded after taking in a late-night baseball game in downtown Tokyo when their scheduled taxi never turned up.
Joe Schmidt and a host of young players were at the same event, and the then-Ireland head coach offered the same reporters a lift back to their hotel on the team bus.
Always a stickler for detail, Schmidt then informed the journalists on board that it was tradition for first-timers on the team coach to sing a song. This gig can take you down some strange avenues. It wouldn't have happened on the week of an All Blacks game, that's for sure. Head Coach Joe Schmidt. Pic: INPHO/Laszlo Geczo
Yes, these expeditions have a more old-school feel to them but there are massive benefits to be reaped from testing some fringe players on foreign lands.
Andrew Porter, James Ryan and Jacob Stockdale made their international debuts on that summer tour eight years ago. Andrew Conway had a solitary Test cap to his name. Joey Carbery had played just three games for his country. Josh van der Flier, Finlay Bealham, Jack Conan and Dan Leavy had a total of 16 caps between them.
Ronan O'Gara, Felix Jones and Girvan Dempsey also travelled as coaching apprentices. Suffice it to say, a lot of those investments paid off down the line. Ronan O'Gara Pic: XAVIER LEOTY / AFP
Watching on from Australia, Andy Farrell will be keeping close tabs on what transpires in Tbilisi and Lisbon. It won't just be the performances on the field which pique the Ireland head coach's interest; Farrell will be eager to hear which players thrived in the environment. Which players got out of their comfort zone and showed potential to be a Test regular? Which players struggled and went into their shells? It will all go into the post-tour report.
This two-game series might feel small and inconsequential when stacked up against the Lions tour Down Under. However, there is plenty at stake for the players on duty. This is a chance to lay down a marker ahead of the autumn internationals as well as the 2026 Six Nations.
It's clear that Ireland is in need of some fresh blood and a reboot after a middling season thus far. The summer presents an opportunity for the next generation to state their case. Pic:And there will be opportunities aplenty. Ireland's record haul of 15 Lions this summer has opened up numerous slots in the touring squad. Cian Healy, Peter O'Mahony and Conor Murray are retiring from Test duty, while Caelan Doris and Robbie Henshaw are long-term injury absentees. No doubt, a few more seasoned frontliners might take the summer off to rest up and get their bodies right for next season.
O'Connell and the rest of his backroom team will get to drill down into the front-row stocks. It almost feels like that Georgia game was designed to put the heat on Ireland's fledgling props. Finlay Bealham and Tom O'Toole will be brought on the flight to lend their considerable experience, but this summer will be all about seeing whether the likes of Jack Boyle, Tom Clarkson, Michael Milne and Paddy McCarthy can take the heat at scrum time.
Boyle and Clarkson have made big strides in the past 12 months. The Irish management will be hoping they take a few more steps forward in July. Ireland's James Ryan. Pic: INPHO/Dan Sheridan
The second row is another department, which is wide open. Tadhg Beirne, Joe McCarthy and James Ryan will be on Lions duty, so this is a huge opportunity for some young locks to catch the eye.
Iain Henderson is likely to tour as the elder statesman, guiding a young crew featuring his Ulster teammate Cormac Izuchuckwu, Munster pair Tom Ahern and Edwin Edogbo, as well as Connacht lock Darragh Murray.
Back row? Despite the absence of some big names is an area which is loaded with talent. Ryan Baird and Max Deegan will fancy their chances of seeing plenty of game time, while Connacht captain Cian Prendergast has been a regular fixture in Ireland squads for quite some time. The big question is whether the Munster duo of John Hodnett and Gavin Coombes can make an impression. Neither has felt the love from Farrell, but a big tour can change perceptions. Ulster flanker James McNabney deserves a spot, too. Craig Casey. Pic: Seb Daly/Sportsfile
Craig Casey would be a good shout for tour captain, while Sam Prendergast and Jack Crowley should benefit from a tour out of the spotlight. Connacht scrumhalf Ben Murphy should be rewarded for a brilliant URC campaign, while Ciarán Frawley will look to make up lost ground after a season which promised so much, but delivered so little.
Jamie Osborne is likely to play a big role on tour, and the versatile Leinster player could easily slot in at inside centre or full-back. Hugh Gavin and Hugh Cooney are rising forces in the game, but surely Tom Farrell has done enough to make the cut.
The in-form Munster centre may be 31, but his form has been compelling since he made the switch from Connacht last summer. Farrell deserves an Ireland cap at this stage, and he could play a huge role in the second half of this World Cup cycle.
Jacob Stockdale, Shayne Bolton, Tommy O'Brien, Zac Ward and Calvin Nash will all be jostling for position in a stacked backfield with Hugo Keenan, Mack Hansen and James Lowe in Oz. Plenty of pace and power among that contingent.
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