ANDY WILL OPEN UP BAG OF TRICKS

Farrell’s sprung a surprise

ANDY FARRELL is gambling on new Test pairing Ross Byrne and Jamison Gibson-park “pulling it out of the bag” at Twickenham.

Well known to each other as Leinster half-backs (inset), the duo are both making only their second Ireland starts.

And they could barely have asked for tougher opponents on Saturday than the losing World Cup finalists and reigning Six Nations champions.

With Johnny Sexton not available, Farrell was expected to pair Byrne with Conor Murray so that the vastly experienced scrum-half could guide the 24-year-old.

Instead he has kept Gibson-park in situ in a side that shows four changes from last Friday’s opening Autumn Nations Cup win over Wales.

Ireland are going from a Test half-back partnership of 60-plus games to one of just two games - with Gibson-park and Byrne coming off the bench both times, against

Italy and France.

“Experience plays a part,” Farrell acknowledged. “You look at Conor and Johnny, they had to get that experience somewhere. They had to be trusted to play in big games like this.

“When they start running the show and owning the show on the big occasion like this game is, it stands them in good stead for the future. That’s how you gain experience.

“The two lads are at the other end of their journey. But they’re more than capable of pulling it out of the bag.”

Keith Earls replaces Andrew

Conway on the right wing, Bundee

Aki comes in for r the injured Robbie e

Henshaw at centre e and CJ Stander er returns to the back ck row, although gh

Caelan Doris retains ns th e No.8 j e r s e y.

Stander will play at blindside, Peter O’mahony on the openside and Josh van der Flier drops out entirely. Quinn Roux has earned another start alongside new captain James Ryan, despite fit-again Iain Henderson’s availability.

“Quinn in the past has always worn his heart on his sleeve but sometimes too much,” said Farrell. “Sometimes it gets a little bit too desperate but I thought he was very accurate in how he wanted to play the game last weekend. He deserves another chance.”

Farrell knows that England will try to make it anoth another arm-wrestle because d doing that has made them the dominan dominant side i n the fixture since Ireland’s Gran Grand Slam clincher at a t Tw i c k e n h a m nea nearly three years ago ago.

T The Ireland su supremo claims th that the way to

POINT TO PROVE Andy Farrell spells out what he wants during Ireland’s training session yesterday

avoid a repeat is to change tack if Plan A isn’t working.

“It’s all about decision making and being in the moment,” he stated. “Being adaptable to what the game offers for us is our way forward.

“If you keep sending players into brick walls all the time, then England will get an opportunity to be able to gain physical dominance.

“If the set-piece doesn’t go how you’d want it to go, you give them opportunities to do that.

“We gain confidence from how we prepare and how our game is rolling along. We did that pretty well last week.

“I ’ve absolutely no doubt that Wales came to the Aviva wanting to mess things up a littl e bit physically.

“We were cool and calm and reacted how we should react, by playing some good rugby and being dominant in how we play the game.” IRELAND: Keenan; Earls, Farrell, Aki, Lowe; R Byrne, Gibson-park; Healy, Kelleher, Porter; Roux, Ryan (capt); Stander, O’mahony, Doris.