Senior players Brian O'Driscoll and Sean O'Brien have been ruled out of Ireland's World Cup warm-up against England in Dublin on Saturday as coach Declan Kidney errs on the side of caution ahead of the global showpiece.
O'Driscoll suffered a shoulder injury in Ireland's 26-22 defeat by France in Dublin last weekend and Kidney explained that he has left his captain out as a precautionary measure.
"Brian picked up a knock against France. He's running around outside, but it was prudent to us not to put him into a contact situation on Saturday," Kidney said.
"With the game coming this week and a full tournament coming up, it just wasn't prudent to put him in the mix. Sometimes you just need to rest it up and get them out of the system," he explained.
Kidney's preparations for the World Cup have also been hit by the loss of O'Brien, their most consistent performer since the start of the Six Nations.
The European player of the year sustained a knee problem midway through the second half against Les Bleus, but Kidney is unconcerned by his fitness.
"Sean will be fine, it wasn't prudent to include him this weekend," he said.
Kidney has made seven changes to the side that started against France. In the backline Geordan Murphy comes in at fullback to win his 70th cap, with Tommy Bowe making his first start of the series on the wing while Andrew Trimble completes the back three.
Keith Earls will start alongside Gordon D'Arcy in the midfield while Ronan O'Gara and Eoin Reddan form the halfback partnership.
Up front Jerry Flannery is named at hooker alongside Cian Healy and Mike Ross. Donncha O'Callaghan and Paul O'Connell are paired at lock for their 40th start together in green, with O'Connell taking over as captain.
Stephen Ferris and David Wallace both start for the first time in August with Jamie Heaslip completing the loose forward trio.
Ireland: 15 Geordan Murphy, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Keith Earls, 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Andrew Trimble, 10 Ronan O'Gara, 9 Eoin Reddan, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 David Wallace, 6 Stephen Ferris, 5 Paul O'Connell (captain), 4 Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Jerry Flannery, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements: Rory Best, Tom Court, Donnacha Ryan, Denis Leamy, Conor Murray, Jonathan Sexton, Fergus McFadden.
Date: Saturday, August 28
Venue: Lansdowne Road, Dublin
Kick-off: 14.30 (13.30 GMT)
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees: Romain Poite (France), Tim Hayes (Wales)
TMO: Giulio De Santis (Italy)
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