- Leinster full-back Joey Carbery will make his first start for Ireland on Saturday
- But Ireland coach Joe Schmidt is to play the 22-year-old in an unfamiliar position
- Carbery will be deployed at out-half and Schmidt has admitted it will be ‘tough’
Joe Schmidt has his fingers crossed that Joey Carbery can wow a sold-out Aviva Stadium on his first home Ireland start on Saturday.
The 22-year-old New Zealander — whose family moved to Athy, Co Kildare when he was 11 — has been chosen at out-half against Fiji in an Irish team showing 13 changes from the side that crushed South Africa.
And Schmidt is hoping one of Ireland rugby’s most exciting prospects in years can now deliver on his much-hyped potential even though he has spent most of this season playing full-back with Leinster.
Leinster full-back Joey Carbery will make his first start for Ireland on Saturday against Fiji
His only run at out-half came six days ago when he was subbed on late for Johnny Sexton against the Springboks.
‘Because he has played six minutes of competitive rugby at No 10, we are asking a lot of him,’ said Schmidt.
‘The comforting thing is he asks a lot of himself and he wants to be as good as he can be and when you put yourself under pressure you find out a little bit more about yourself.
‘We don’t necessarily have that many windows for Joey to accelerate his learning, so this is an opportunity.
‘He has played almost 450 minutes of competitive rugby this year but that has all been at full-back.
‘It’s going to be a tough day at the office for Joey and we want to see how he negotiates that.
‘The temptation was to maybe put more experience around him, but Kieran Marmion keeps growing in stature because he is lion-hearted and has a real spark to the way he plays. Hopefully, that will take a bit of pressure off Joey.
‘This window for Joey is ideal. He is really driven to make the most of it.’
But Ireland coach Joe Schmidt is to play the 22-year-old in an unfamiliar position at out-half