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Ireland have recalled experienced duo Peter O’Mahony and Rob Kearney for their quarter-final clash with New Zealand .
With Bundee Aki suspended, Robbie Henshaw and Garry Ringrose start in the centres, while Rory Best captains the side at hooker on his 124th Ireland appearance.
Johnny Sexton and Conor Murray become Ireland’s most capped halfback pairing, starting together for the 56th time.
Cian Healy and Tadhg Furlong join Best in the front row.
Iain Henderson partners James Ryan at lock, with Tadhg Beirne held in reserve.
Team of the pool stage: Rugby World Cup 2019Show all 16 1 /16Team of the pool stage: Rugby World Cup 2019 Team of the pool stage: Rugby World Cup 2019 Rugby World Cup team of the pool stage With the 40 pool matches of the Rugby World Cup in the bag, who makes our best team of the pool stage? Click through the gallery to see each player.
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Team of the pool stage: Rugby World Cup 2019 1. Joe Marler (England) Not so long ago the loosehead was in international retirement, yet now he finds himself as one of just five players to have started all three of England’s pool games. Marler stood up to take on responsibility in the absence of first-choice Mako Vunipola, and ensured that his absence did not become a weakness.
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Team of the pool stage: Rugby World Cup 2019 2. Shota Horie (Japan) Arguably the player of the pool stage. Horie’s familiar locks have made him famous for more than just his rugby skills, but it is what he is doing on the field that he deserves praise for. Standout performances against Ireland and Scotland tell you all you need to know about his form so far.
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Team of the pool stage: Rugby World Cup 2019 3. Tadhg Furlong (Ireland) Furlong was outstanding against Samoa and has provided strong consistency across the pool stage to help Ireland get back on their feet. With most tighthead props being rotated game by game, it makes selection rather tricky to look for standout moments, but Furlong’s two crunching runs in his most recent outing see him stand out from the rest.
EPA
Team of the pool stage: Rugby World Cup 2019 4. Luke Thompson (Japan) The 38-year-old is defying Father Time at this year’s World Cup and has been one of their standout players so far. His defensive effort has been supreme with the numbers to back it up, while he is also a key reason why Japan now have a strong set-piece.
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Team of the pool stage: Rugby World Cup 2019 5. Lood de Jager (South Africa) Has stood out from the shadow of Eben Etzebeth to be South Africa’s leading second row so far this tournament. Finally looks to be delivering on the potential that he’s been earmarked as having for some time, and is learning how to make the most of his towering frame.
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Team of the pool stage: Rugby World Cup 2019 6. Michael Leitch (Japan) Captain fantastic and a hero to the Japanese people, who bello “LEITCH!” every time he gets the ball. Carries ferociously like it’s his last chance to touch the ball, and has led Japan’s defensive effort with honour.
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Team of the pool stage: Rugby World Cup 2019 7. Justin Tipuric (Wales) The flanker was brilliant against Australia to help them to victory and was trusted to lead the team against Uruguay in order to provide his nous and intelligence to help see Wales to top spot.
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Team of the pool stage: Rugby World Cup 2019 8. Kazuki Himeno (Japan) Is emerging into one of the most impactful forwards at the World Cup with a lovely blend of raw power and gifted handling making him a handful for opponents to stop, as both Samoa and Scotland discovered.
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Team of the pool stage: Rugby World Cup 2019 9. Yutaka Nagare (Japan) A lot of what Japan have achieved at this World Cup is down to the speed in delivering the ball that Nagare is able to provide. Slow him down and teams will work out how to beat Japan, but so far no one has managed to do that and Nagare has punished them for it.
AP
Team of the pool stage: Rugby World Cup 2019 10. George Ford (England) A bright light in what has not been a shimmering campaign so far for England, but the way he has surged back into the mix after losing his place to Owen Farrell last year has been impressive. Captain on occasion, leading fly-half on the rest, Ford has even crossed the whitewash twice to get his account off to a strong start.
AP
Team of the pool stage: Rugby World Cup 2019 11. Semi Radradra (Fiji) The man pushing Leitch as the player of the tournament. Radradra was unstoppable against Wales and battered the Wallabies defence with his power running on the opening weekend. The biggest shame is that he is going home from the tournament already, but his impact has been felt by many a defender already in Japan,
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Team of the pool stage: Rugby World Cup 2019 12. Ryoto Nakamura (Japan) The centre has made a name for himself at the World Cup, with his ability to blast through tackles standing out as a key reason why Japan are able to get over the gain line so often.
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Team of the pool stage: Rugby World Cup 2019 13. Anton Lienert-Brown (New Zealand) There are not as many New Zealanders on this list as you’d usually expect, but then the All Blacks have been going through the motion since the victory over South Africa three weeks ago. Not Lienert-Brown though, as he has stood out as one of the best performers of the tournament so far.
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Team of the pool stage: Rugby World Cup 2019 14. Kotaro Matsushima (Japan) Five-try Kotro leads the way at the Rugby World Cup, with only Wales’s Josh Adams able to match his haul at the tournament so far. Matsushima brings a huge work rate to the back-field and has an incredible ability to bounce off much bigger tacklers than he is, which says a lot about his skills and strength in the tackle.
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Team of the pool stage: Rugby World Cup 2019 15. Beauden Barrett (New Zealand) Barrett may not have played for a few weeks after being rested against Nambia and having the final game with Canada cancelled, but the brilliant display against the Springboks at the strat of the tournament should be forgotten.
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O’Mahony starts ahead of the impressive Rhys Ruddock on the blindside, with CJ Stander and Josh van der Flier also in the back row.
There is no place in the back three for Jordan Larmour, man of the match against Samoa, or Andrew Conway.
Jacob Stockdale starts on the left wing with Keith Earls on the right, and Kearney back into the side at full-back.
It is an Ireland starting line-up containing 12 of the 15 players who started last November’s win over the All Blacks in Dublin.
Ireland team to play New Zealand (Tokyo Stadium, October 19, 11.15am BST)
15. Rob Kearney 94 caps
14. Keith Earls 81 caps
13. Garry Ringrose 28 caps
12. Robbie Henshaw 39 caps
11. Jacob Stockdale 24 caps
10. Johnny Sexton 87 caps
9. Conor Murray 77 caps
1. Cian Healy 94 caps
2. Rory Best (capt) 123 caps
3. Tadhg Furlong 40 caps
4. Iain Henderson 52 caps
5. James Ryan 22 caps
6. Peter O’Mahony 63 caps
7. Josh van der Flier 22 caps
8. CJ Stander 37 caps
Replacements
16. Niall Scannell 19 caps
17. Dave Kilcoyne 35 caps
18. Andrew Porter 22 caps
19. Tadhg Beirne 12 caps
20. Rhys Ruddock 25 caps
21. Luke McGrath 18 caps
22. Joey Carbery 21 caps
23. Jordan Larmour 20 caps
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