James Lowe, Josh van der Flier and Jamison Gibson-Park, thirtysomethings all, have all been given the Farrell treatment over the past six weeks and bounced back with excellent performances. And the Ireland boss may well pull off another masterstroke with the selection of Bundee Aki on the bench to face Scotland at Aviva Stadium in Saturday’s Triple Crown decider. A bench role followed for the openside flanker as he picked up his 78th cap as a replacement against Wales in round four. “I'd always want to start every game,” van der Flier said. And on top of that, he’s been pretty good for us coming off the bench as far as energy is concerned.

Source: Irish Examiner March 13, 2026 18:27 UTC