Farrell hands Six Nations debut to Lowe
New Zealand-born wing James Lowe is set to start for Ireland against Wales on Monday (AEDT) as Andy Farrell's men seek to end an eight-year wait for a Six Nations win in Cardiff.
The 28-year-old Lowe impressed in the Autumn Nations Cup but was then sidelined with a groin injury, only returning to training last month.
He has been preferred to his Leinster team-mate Jordan Larmour, who missed the Autumn Nations Cup because of injury and finds himself on the replacements' bench.
Farrell, speaking after the team was announced on Saturday (AEDT), said Lowe should not be seen as a surprise pick.
"He is not in our eyes," the Ireland head coach said. "He is a great player and right for this game.
"He has been in great form and Jordan too has not played much rugby."
Johnny Sexton, embarking on his 12th Six Nations campaign, will skipper the side as it bids to win its first Six Nations match in the Welsh capital since 2013.
Five-eighth Sexton is one of five players from that team to be involved in Monday's (AEDT)match.
His half-back partner, Conor Murray, is another of them, along with prop Cian Healy, who makes his 50th Six Nations appearance.
Farrell said that even though many pundits have made Ireland the favourite to end that poor run, he and the team would not be taking Wales for granted.
Ireland beat Wales twice last year as Wales struggled to adapt to new coach Wayne Pivac and went from 2019 Six Nations Grand Slam winner to finishing second from bottom.
But Farrell said he did not believe "for one second" that Wales was no longer the force it used to be.
"Our boys are very familiar with them," he said. "We know how good they are, especially when under pressure.
"It is a huge game for both teams and it will be a war of attrition."
Hugo Keenan gets a chance to impress at full-back with Jacob Stockdale out injured.
British and Irish Lions prop Tadhg Furlong is named on the bench despite not having played rugby since Ireland's defeat by England last February.
Billy Burns appears to be the favoured successor to Sexton as the England-born Ulster five-eighth is preferred to Ross Byrne on the bench.
"We (coaching staff) liked what we saw in training," Farrell said.
"We put them under tremendous pressure and I thought Billy would give us some dynamism off the bench."
