Ireland hand debuts to Garry Ringrose and Joey Carbery

Ireland coach Joe Schmidt has named Leinster pair Garry Ringrose and Joey Carbery in the matchday squad to face the World Champions New Zealand in Chicago on Saturday.

Outside centre Ringrose made his club debut for Leinster in 2015 and has played 17 games for the Ireland Under-20 team previously. Auckland born fly-half Carbery will provide cover to Jonny Sexton after Paddy Jackson had pulled out of the game due to personal reasons.

Schmidt admitted that it will not be an easy task for the youngsters to face a team of All Blacks calibre on their international debut. However, he expressed confidence on the duo to come out fighting.

"It's a bit of a baptism of fire; it's probably not ideal," said Schmidt, of the impending high-pressure debuts for Ringrose and Carbery.

"It's a little bit daunting for them but it's a great opportunity for them to learn.

"When they get out there I've no doubt the pace of the game will be pretty sharp.

"Those two youngsters, they can run all day and hopefully we're not chasing shadows.

"Hopefully they can get a shot with the ball and demonstrate a little bit of the talent we've seen in them.

"It would have been nice probably to have them in a Test match that was slightly less daunting, but they've been quite refreshing in how enthusiastic they've been, they've haven't shown signs of being intimidated by the task."

Fullback Rob Kearney has been given his first start since February while Jared Payne will start at 13 for Ireland.

Schmidt said the squad contains a good mixture of experienced players and youngsters and he urged the team to be fully prepared when they take on Steve Hansen's men, who are on a 18-match unbeaten streak.

"There were a number of variables involved in our backline selection, including the balance of what was coming off the bench and what we had starting," said Schmidt.

"We have tried to go with a little bit of experience, just because of the magnitude of the game and the quality of the opposition, to be honest.

"That's a starting point for us, and once those younger guys do get on, that will give us an opportunity to assess them a little bit against a very, very high standard of opposition.

"At the same time it will give them an idea of what it's like to play at the very, very top level.

"Excitement at the moment is overriding the nerves for the young guys as far as having to go out and step out onto such a big stage.

"I think they are both quite natural players, the two young guys. Garry, he reads things well, he picks his moments well, he makes good decisions.

"And Joey Carbery's been very similar. Probably the thing that's been impressive about Joey is that he played pre-season games and he's played every weekend since the season's started, which again isn't ideal, particularly for such a young player in his first season.

"So we were pretty keen to give him the weekend off to be honest, but at the same time he's had such a bounce about him that he's really given us the confidence that he's ready to go."