Loosehead Cian Healy and scrum-half Eoin Reddan are also on the bench and Schmidt can’t wait to let his superstars off the leash.

He said: "It's given us a bit of a boost after what was a really disappointing defeat last Friday night.

"We lost our way a bit in the second half against Glasgow and they will bring us a little bit more control, a little bit more leadership and experience.

"Shane Jennings is a very vocal player, organises himself well on and off the field and organises the guys around him as well.

"Jonathan Sexton will add a bit more to our kicking game, which was poor against Glasgow, so I think Jonny will give us a little bit more control.

"And Drico brings what he brings -- a group of skills and experience that can add to us.

"It's been a short week in the sense that these guys haven't had a lot of time (with us) but we're taking advantage of an extra day so it's been an eight-day week."