With Joe Schmidt away in New Zealand for a family bereavement, Andy Farrell has taken charge of the Ireland team leading up to their fixture this Saturday with Italy. 

Farrell, the father of England flyhalf Owen Farrell, will be assuming the role of head coach for the Ireland team following Schmidt's departure after this World Cup. This week has been a glimpse into what the future will hold for Irish rugby, and Farrell would like to cap it off with a victory. 

Ireland's Summer Test Series Schedule

Saturday, August 10

Ireland vs Italy (Dublin, 9:00 AM ET)

Saturday, August 24

England vs Ireland ( London, 10:00 AM ET)

Saturday, August 31

Wales vs Ireland (Cardiff, 9:30 AM ET)

Sunday, September 7

Ireland vs Wales (Dublin, 9:00 AM ET)

The boys have been hard at work training at the Carton House this week. 44 players remain in the training camp, meaning 13 will be cut before the 31-man roster for Japan is announced. The coming weeks will be pivotal; Ireland plan to finally progress beyond the quarterfinals of a World Cup for the first time, and sound preparation is going to be key. 

The men in green will surely progress through pool play and, it is a near certainty they will meet one of New Zealand or South Africa in the quarters. 

Either one of those fixtures will be massively physical, so depth in the squad will have to be a strongpoint. As injuries in a World Cup tournament are inevitable, it's important to develop various combinations ahead of time, which is the aim for Ireland in this Summer Test Series matchup with Italy. 

The lineup for this meeting features a mixture of probable World Cup starters alongside fringe players hoping to turn in a performance that finds them a seat on the plane to Japan. 

Ireland Lineup to Face Italy
15. Jordan Larmour (St Mary’s College/Leinster) 13 caps
14. Andrew Conway (Garryowen/Munster) 12 caps caps
13. Garry Ringrose (UCD/Leinster) 20 caps
12. Chris Farrell (Young Munster/Munster) 5 caps
11. Dave Kearney (Lansdowne/Leinster) 17
10. Joey Carbery (Clontarf/Munster) 18 caps
9. Luke McGrath (UCD/Leinster) 10 caps

1. Jack McGrath (St Marys College/Leinster) 54 caps
2. Rob Herring (Ballynahinch/Ulster) 7 caps
3. Andrew Porter (UCD/Leinster) 14 caps
4. Devin Toner (Lansdowne/Leinster) 64 caps
5. Jean Kleyn (Munster) 0 caps
6. Rhys Ruddock (St Mary’s College/Leinster) 21 caps Captain
7. Tommy O’Donnell (UL Bohemians/Munster) 12 caps
8. Jordi Murphy (Lansdowne/Ulster) 27 caps

Reserves
16. Niall Scannell (Dolphin/Munster) 14 caps
17. Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster) 88 caps
18. John Ryan (Cork Constitution/Munster) 18 caps
19. Iain Henderson (Queens University/Ulster) 44 caps
20. Tadhg Beirne (Lansdowne/Munster) 5 caps
21. Kieran Marmion (Galwegians/Connacht) 25 caps
22. Jack Carty (Buccaneers/Connacht) 3 caps
23. Mike Haley (Munster) 0 caps