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Ireland vs Italy teams RWC 2015: Robbie Henshaw returns but Rob Kearney and Jared Payne ruled out with injury

Keith Earls moves to outside centre while Dave Kearney and Henshar come into the back line as big guns return in the pack

Friday 02 October 2015 14:01 BST

Ireland centre Robbie Henshaw returns for Ireland (Getty Images)

Rob Kearney and Jared Payne have both lost their fitness battles for Ireland's crucial World Cup clash with Italy on Sunday.

Head coach Joe Schmidt has slotted Simon Zebo in at full-back and Keith Earls into the outside centre berth for the Pool D clash at London's Olympic Stadium.

Rob Kearney suffered a mild gluteal strain on scoring Ireland's fifth try in the 44-10 victory over Romania at Wembley last weekend, and simply ran out of time to prove his fitness to face the Azzurri.

Payne bruised his foot against the Romanians, and did not train on Wednesday - the pivotal day's work in regard to selection to face Italy.

Rob Kearney limped out of the win over Romania minutes after scoring a try (Getty Images)

Connacht centre Robbie Henshaw will make his World Cup debut after missing the first two matches of the tournament with hamstring trouble.

Win and Ireland will secure their quarter-final place, with France still to play in the group stages, so boss Schmidt has rolled out his full-court press starting XV.

Jack McGrath retains his place at loosehead prop, even though scrum coach Greg Feek admitted fit-again Cian Healy is "breathing down his neck".

Healy only just won fitness after neck surgery in time for the World Cup, so is still perhaps a little shy of full match-sharpness.

World Cup team of the week - round two

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1/15World Cup team of the week - round two

World Cup team of the week - round two

15. Liam Williams (Wales)

Williams made the most ground of any during a ferocious contest at Twickenham as he returned the ball with vigour. Looked to add to the line when possible, especially on the right to form a formidable pairing with George North on the wing. Unlucky to be in the wrong place at the wrong time when Tom Wood’s stray boot caught him in the head and forced him off.

World Cup team of the week - round two

14. JP Pietersen (South Africa)

The under-fire Springboks responded with a comprehensive victory over Samoa with the recalled Pietersen bagging himself three tries. With all eyes on his fellow wing Bryan Habana, Pietersen showed he can be just as dangerous as he quickly launched himself to the top of the try scorer charts alongside Welsh pair Gareth Davies and Cory Allen.

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World Cup team of the week - round two

13. Malakai Fekitoa (New Zealand)

New Zealand’s centres needed a big performance after the uncertain one against Argentina, and in Fekitoa and Sonny Bill Williams they enjoyed prolonged success over Namibia. Fekitoa was on hand to score a try after Williams’ offload, while he proved a useful outlet to cross the gainline every time he got the ball. The 23-year-old is certainly challenging Conrad Smith for the No 13 jersey.

World Cup team of the week - round two

12. Gonzalo Garcia (Italy)

Italy could not afford defeat against Canada if they had any hopes of challenging the big two in Pool D, but for much of the game it looked like that could be the case. However, centre Garcia came up trumps in the closing stages to bag the match-winning try, and he also made the most tackles as the Canadian back-row repeatedly ran his way.

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World Cup team of the week - round two

11. Santiago Cordero (Argentina)

The Pumas turned it on in the second half against Georgia, and a key reason behind that was the speed and dancing feet of Cordero. The wing bagged two tries in the 54-9 victory on his way to an impressive 152m gain, but he also contributed with the most offloads to keep his side on the front-foot when it mattered most.

2015 Getty Images

World Cup team of the week - round two

10. Dan Biggar (Wales)

A faultless kicking display at Twickenham not only gave Wales one of their greatest ever victories, but also helped those in red forget about the absence of the metronomic Leigh Halfpenny. Biggar also found a way to bring his outside backs into play especially out wide, and given England had set out to stop this from occurring with two big tackling centres, it was even more impressive that Wales’s crucial try came out wide.

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World Cup team of the week - round two

9. Tomas Cubelli (Argentina)

The scrum-half joins his Argentinian teammate Cordero in the side after inspiring the Pumas to a much-needed bonus point. He managed to get himself on the scoresheet just after the break to trigger the rout, and his flourishing half-back partnership with Nicolas Sanchez looks to be one to watch for the South Americans.

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World Cup team of the week - round two

1. Hubert Buydens (Canada)

The Canadian loosehead excelled to give his side equality against a strong Italian scrum, although the absence of Martin Castrogiovanni did go in his favour. The Canucks didn’t lose a scrum on their own put-in, which against a Six Nations side is very impressive to say the least, and the battle between Buydens and Lorenzo Cittadini was enthralling to watch at times.

World Cup team of the week - round two

2. Codie Taylor (New Zealand)

Given a surprise start ahead of the veteran Keven Mealamu, and didn’t disappoint. Taylor carried well to break the line twice, nailed all but one of his lineout throws and didn’t lose a scrum as the All Blacks ran riot at the Olympic Stadium. His last gasp try was more than deserved.

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World Cup team of the week - round two

3. Nathan White (Ireland)

Ireland enjoyed success in the scrum in the few that occurred at Wembley as Ireland comfortably overcame Romania on Sunday evening, and while all eyes were on the more prominent Cian Healy and his first start since neck surgery, White was a key figure in the Irish front-row. The USA’s Titi Lamositele is unlucky to miss out after an impressive first half against Scotland.

World Cup team of the week - round two

4. Tomas Lavanini (Argentina)

The second-row opened the scoring against Georgia as he finished a well-worked try after a lovely long pass from fly-half Sanchez, and the lock carried well all game to break the gain line six times. Along with second-row partner Matias Alemanno they stole two Georgian lineouts, and imposed over the opposition pack both at the set-piece and in the loose.

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World Cup team of the week - round two

5. Eben Etzebeth (South Africa)

Reinstated to the starting line-up after an injury scare, Etzebeth carried with venom like a caged animal unleashed. The towering second-row made the most clean breaks and the difficulty in stopping him in a one-on-one tackle also saw him complete the most offloads in the match, while he took on the bulk of the work in the lineout despite partnering the veteran Victor Matfield. All this at the age of 23, it’s easy to see why he’s tipped to be the breakthrough star of the World Cup.

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World Cup team of the week - round two

6. Francois Louw (South Africa)

A much improved Springbok back-row saw Louw switched to the opposite side with Schalk Burger back on the flank, and it worked. Playing openside – given South Africa play with reverted flankers – Louw put in a strong tackling performance that nullified any threat from the strong Samoans and kept their try line intact.

World Cup team of the week - round two

7. Sean McMahon (Australia)

Undoubtedly one of the stars of the round, albeit against a Uruguayan side that was blown off the park for the second week in succession. McMahon demonstrated why the talk should not be all about David Pocock and Michael Hooper – affectionately named “Pooper” by the British media – as he bagged two tries and was a terrier at the breakdown in stealing ball for the Wallabies.

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World Cup team of the week - round two

8. Billy Vunipola (England)

The loss of the No 8 proved a pivotal turning point in the match at Twickenham as England lost their go-to man to get them on the front-foot. From the get-go, Vunipola showed he was in one of those moods where he can be at his attacking best, and his battle with cousin Taulupe Faletau was one of the many highlights from the Pool A clash.

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Ulster powerhouse Iain Henderson partners captain Paul O'Connell at lock, with the tournament's tallest player, the 6ft 11in Devin Toner, offering cover from the bench.

Tommy Bowe has forced his way back into the line-up after returning to form against Romania. The Ulster wing was quickly jettisoned after slipping off Jonny May to allow his England counterpart to score at Twickenham in Ireland's 21-13 warm-up defeat.

Now the 31-year-old is right back in the mix. Bowe would be unlikely to start were Rob Kearney and Payne both fit, but Schmidt's decision to elevate him past replacement Luke Fitzgerald certainly indicates restored faith.

Ireland team to face Italy on Sunday:

S Zebo (Munster), T Bowe (Ulster), K Earls (Munster), R Henshaw (Connacht), D Kearney, J Sexton (both Leinster), C Murray (Munster), J McGrath (Leinster), R Best (Ulster), M Ross (Leinster), I Henderson (Ulster), P O'Connell (capt, Toulon), P O'Mahony (Munster), S O'Brien, J Heaslip (both Leinster).

Replacements: S Cronin, C Healy (both Leinster), N White (Connacht), D Toner (Leinster), C Henry (Ulster), E Reddan, I Madigan, L Fitzgerald (all Leinster).

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