Ireland hint changes for series decider against Australia

Ireland forwards coach Simon Easterby has insisted that there will be changes to the starting line-up for the third and final Test against Australia to be played in Sydney on Saturday.

Joe Schmidt wasn't reluctant to experiment against Wallabies as he was seen making eight changes for the second game which Ireland went on to win 21-26 to level the series.

Despite, the series is on the line with everything to play for in the final game, Easterby said they are keen to give some inexperienced players a chance in the match squad.

“There will be some changes and whether that's the starting team or the bench I think there's always going to be an opportunity throughout a three-Test series, not only through injuries, but also through our need to get some exposure for some of the more inexperienced players on a tour like this,” he said.

“We're not that far out from a World Cup and this has been a great trip for us to get to know players that we're maybe not that familiar with, but also to get some really important game time and training time with those players.”

There are some concerns surrounding the fitness of prop Cian Healy with Dan Kilcoyne seen active in the training but Easterby confirmed the 30-year-old is making progress.

“Cian trained, Dan we managed a bit, Andrew [Conway] still carrying nasty hip pointer but the way they've presented themselves 48 hours post-game, is very encouraging,” he said.

“We're pretty happy with the availability of training today but also the way the players have shown up today and even the guys that have carried some serious bumps from the weekend are looking far better than we expected.”

Former Sale Sharks captain Will Addison was linked up to the squad ahead of the training in Melbourne game and he now qualifies to play for Ireland after signing a contract with Ulster ahead of new season.

“I guess certainly in Will's case, he was over visiting family and he had an opportunity to come in,” he said.

“When you've got someone who's moving to Ulster and is Irish-qualified and you've an opportunity to use him and getting him into the squad was good and the players to meet him as well and he trained, so it was a quite useful time for him as well and for us to see him in action.”