Johnny Sexton to start for Ireland against Romania

Ireland skipper Johnny Sexton will make his first appearance since March after being named in the starting line up for the Rugby World Cup opener against Romania to be played in Bordeaux.

A combination of an injury and a three-match ban has limited Sexton's appearances this year but now returns to partner with Jamison Gibson-Park at half-back.

A fit again Garry Ringrose joins Bundee Aki at the midfield while Keith Earls and James Lowe are the preferred wings with Hugo Keenan at fullback. Robbie Henshaw misses out on the starting line up but is named on the bench.

The absence of Dan Sheenan sees Rob Herring starting at hooker with Andrew Porter and Tadgh Furlong forming the remainder of the front row. Joe McCarthy replaces Ryan Baird from their Grand Slam triumph game joining James Ryan at second row.

The inclusion of McCarthy sees Tadhg Beirne is moved to back row that also has Caelan Doris and Peter O'Mahony. Jack Crowley gets the nod over Ross Byrne as a cover for Sexton with the bench also comprising of Josh van der Flier, Conor Murray and Iain Henderson.

Ireland: 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Keith Earls, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 James Lowe, 10 Jonathan Sexton (c), 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Caelan Doris, 7 Peter O’Mahony, 6 Tadhg Beirne, 5 James Ryan, 4 Joe McCarthy, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Rob Herring, 1 Andrew Porter

Reserves: 16 Ronan Kelleher, 17 Jeremy Loughman, 18 Tom O’Toole, 19 Iain Henderson, 20 Josh van der Flier, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Jack Crowley, 23 Robbie Henshaw