Davit Niniashvili D. Lineup Ireland Georgia 15 J. Stockdale FB 14 H. Keenan RW 13 C. Farrell OC 12 S. McCloskey IC 11 K. Earls LW 10 B. Burns FH 9 C.

Murray SH 1 F. Bealham LP 2 R. Herring H 3 A. Porter TP 4 I. Henderson L 5 J. Ryan L 6 T. Beirne BF 7 W. With veteran fly-half Johnny Sexton in the twilight of his career and currently injured, Farrell is particularly desperate for options for the No 10 jersey.

Billy Burns has been given the nod this weekend for what will be his full debut and been challenged by Farrell to "run the show".

Burns will be eager to build on his impressive Twickenham cameo and push himself ahead of rival Ross Byrne in the battle to become Sexton's long-term successor.

The raft of personnel changes has also afforded a fresh chance for Stuart McCloskey. Ulster centre McCloskey has been patiently awaiting an opportunity since winning the last of his three previous caps more than two years ago.

He will play alongside experienced scrumhalf Conor Murray. If they are to top their pool, Ireland must hope that England suffer a surprise defeat to Wales in Llanelli on Saturday in the other Group A fixture, which could allow them to overtake Eddie Jones's side with a bonus-point win.

They currently trail England by 39 on points difference -- a figure that will be smaller should England lose -- meaning that a hefty bonus-point win over a Georgian team yet to register a point could take them top.

Ireland have won all four previous meetings with Georgia, scoring 49 points or more in three of those games. Meanwhile, Soso Matiashvili will return at fullback as one of six changes for Georgia, it was announced on Friday.

Matiashvili sat out the earlier defeats by England and Wales but returns to the starting line-up along with Tamaz Mchedlidze, who moves from the bench to the wing as the side seeks more attacking threat.

Coach Levan Maisashvili has also changed four members of the forward pack, with Shalva Mamukashvili coming in at hooker between props Mikheil Nariashvili and Beka Gigashvili.

Defended intelligently, shooting out his line to snuff out a Georgian overlap with a phenomenal read in the 49th minute.

The big 12 turned over the ball with his first carry, a mistake which was compounded moments later when he forced an offload for a second turnover in the space of two minutes.

Started to settle thereafter, his kicking from hand in particular impressing. Very little ball came his way thereafter. Other than that a workmanlike shift from the veteran.

The more the match wore on, the more the Connacht prop struggled. Georgia arrived in Dublin yet to score a point in the tournament but produced arguably the moment of the match courtesy of a dazzling first-half score from Giorgi Kveseladze.

The tenacious visitors can take plenty of confidence into next weekend's meeting with Fiji, although that wooden spoon fixture remains in doubt as each of their opponents' Group B matches were cancelled due to Covid protocols.

Ireland endured persistent set-piece struggles in the loss at Twickenham last time out and, despite the relatively comfortable final scoreline, were far from flawless in that area this week.

Head coach Farrell made nine changes to the side beaten by Eddie Jones' World Cup finalists as he seeks greater competition from a relatively small player pool.