Henshaw, O'Mahony named in Ireland lineup for Wales clash

FILE PHOTO: Rugby Union - Six Nations Championship - Ireland v France - Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Republic of Ireland - March 10, 2019 Ireland's Peter O'Mahony during the warm up before the match REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne/File Photo

Ireland coach Andy Farrell has made two changes to the starting lineup for their second Six Nations game against champions Wales on Saturday, with Robbie Henshaw and Peter O'Mahony being named as injury replacements.

Henshaw replaces injured centre Garry Ringrose, who was ruled out of Ireland's next two matches against Wales and England after he sustained a hand injury in their tournament opener against Scotland over the weekend.

O'Mahony comes in for Caelan Doris after the number eight was injured early in the 19-12 win in Dublin, with CJ Stander set to step into Doris' role.

FILE PHOTO: Rugby Union - Rugby Union - Rugby World Cup 2019 - Quarter Final - New Zealand v Ireland - Tokyo Stadium, Tokyo, Japan - October 19, 2019 Ireland's Robbie Henshaw celebrates scoring their first try REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo

"There's some things that we did really well last week and some things that we can tidy up as well," Farrell said in an interview on the Irish Rugby Football Union website https://www.irishrugby.ie/2020/02/04/two-changes-to-starting-xv-for-wales. "So a little bit of continuity gives us the chance to do that."

Uncapped forward Max Deegan is set to make his international debut after he was named among the replacements while the experienced Keith Earls, who missed the win over Scotland, is back on the bench.

Deegan, 23, who was named player of the tournament in the World Rugby Under-20 Championship in 2016, has been in sublime form for Leinster this season.

"It's there for all to see the type of season he's had so far," Farrell added on Deegan. "He's got all the skills of a back row and he's perfect for us coming off the bench.

"It's going to be a big day for him and I'm sure he's going to do everyone proud."

Ireland are third in the standings after the first round of fixtures while Wales are top following their 42-0 thrashing of Italy.

Ireland starting lineup: Jordan Larmour, Andrew Conway, Robbie Henshaw, Bundee Aki, Jacob Stockdale, Johnny Sexton (captain), Conor Murray, Cian Healy, Rob Herring, Tadhg Furlong, Iain Henderson, James Ryan, Peter O'Mahony, Josh van der Flier, CJ Stander.

Replacements: Ronan Kelleher, Dave Kilcoyne, Andrew Porter, Devin Toner, Max Deegan, John Cooney, Ross Byrne, Keith Earls.

(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Radnedge)