Ronan O’Gara has also been recalled at fly-half with Peter Stringer installed alongside him at scrum-half.
There are also plenty of changes in the pack and Kidney admits with the World Cup a year away he must look at all his options.

“We’ve talked about building a squad and that’s not always as easy as it seems,” said Kidney.

“I’ve picked this team to show that we have faith in the players in the squad – sometimes you have to back that up.

“Some of these guys were unlucky to miss out last week and they are getting their chance – we want to try and show we’ve got a good squad.

“There’s always a risk the team will be disjointed with that many changes, but building a squad isn’t easy.

“The alternative is to have only 15 players, but then if someone is injured it’s hard to pick another fella.

“People paying hard-earned money to see the match want to see Ireland win. It’s trying to get that balance right.”