Crowley starts at 10 with Doris on bench for Ireland

Crowley has been rewarded for a strong start to the season with Munster

Autumn Nations Series: Ireland v New Zealand

Venue: Soldier Field, Chicago Date: Saturday, 1 November Kick-off: 20:10 GMT

Coverage: Listen to live commentary on, BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, BBC Radio Ulster and BBC Sounds, follow live text commentary on the BBC Sport website and app

Jack Crowley has been named at fly-half in Ireland's much-anticipated Chicago rematch against New Zealand on Saturday (20:10 GMT), while returning captain Caelan Doris will start on the bench.

With Doris among the replacements, Jack Conan starts at number eight, while Dan Sheehan will skipper Ireland for the second time, having taken on the role in the Six Nations win over Wales earlier this year.

Sheehan is joined in the front row by Andrew Porter and Tadhg Furlong, who also started at tight-head prop in Ireland's historic win over the All Blacks at Soldier Field in 2016.

All three were part of the British and Irish Lions' series victory in Australia over the summer, with 11 of Ireland's starting line-up and 14 of the 23 having been on the tour down under.

Leinster prop Paddy McCarthy is poised to make his Test debut after being named on the bench.

Injuries to Hugo Keenan and Mack Hansen have forced head coach Andy Farrell to shake up his back three, with Jamie Osborne and Tommy O'Brien selected at full-back and right wing.

Joe McCarthy's foot injury means James Ryan starts in the second row alongside Tadhg Beirne, with Ryan Baird and Josh van der Flier alongside Conan in the back row.

Stuart McCloskey will start alongside Garry Ringrose in midfield with Bundee Aki, who has been struggling with a hip injury, named on the bench. Ringrose and Van der Flier featured off the bench in Ireland's historic Chicago win over the All Blacks in 2016.

"There's always a bit of something really," Farrell said when asked if he picked his side purely on form.

"You pick a side for the month ahead and it's certainly a challenging one, it's certainly an exciting one that we've got coming up, so you pick a side for that."

Farrell, who has already been with his squad in Chicago for a week, added: "Then we come over here and we've three or four really competitive sessions and you watch and learn and see who's dealing with that as well.

"Because that's part of international rugby as well - how you can come together and quickly gel as a team in the short space of time that you've got. It's all part of the process."

Ireland line-up

Ireland: J Osborne; T O'Brien, G Ringrose, S McCloskey, J Lowe; J Crowley, J Gibson-Park; A Porter, D Sheehan (capt), T Furlong, J Ryan, T Beirne, R Baird, J van der Flier, J Conan.

Replacements: R Kelleher, P McCarthy, F Bealham, I Henderson, C Doris, C Casey, S Prendergast, B Aki.

Analysis - In-form Crowley and McCloskey rewarded

McCloskey has 21 caps for Ireland but has never played against the All Blacks

Crowley's return to the 10 jersey is not overly surprising, but still significant. The Munster man was Ireland's first-choice out-half during their 2024 Six Nations title win, but lost his place to Sam Prendergast during last year's autumn Tests.

However, Crowley has started the season strongly and his starring role in Munster's comprehensive United Rugby Championship win over Leinster has helped him edge out Prendergast.

When asked about picking Crowley, Farrell said the 25-year-old "deserves" it.

"He's had a great pre-season, come back in, started the season in good form, and it's certainly something that we saw in the first week over here," added Farrell.

"We've had a great camp, getting the lads back together. It certainly shows us where everyone's at as far as the competition and the respect that they're trying to gain from one another.

"You watch all of that and you come up with a decision who deserves to start and rightly so, Jack has been running the side really well this week, so we're looking forward to seeing him perform."

Doris has been sidelined since May after undergoing shoulder surgery that ruled him out of the British and Irish Lions tour to Australia, and while he has returned to training, Farrell has opted not to risk the 27-year-old from the start.

It means that Saturday will be another significant day in the career of Sheehan. The 27-year-old hooker has been one of Ireland's outstanding players in recent years, while his emerging leadership status has seen him captain his country and the Lions this year, having led the tourists to victory over Western Force.

Ireland were also captained from hooker - on that occasion Rory Best - in the 2016 win.

It will be a big day for Best's former Ulster team-mate McCloskey, too. The 33-year-old started both summer wins over Georgia and Portugal, but has found run-outs with the frontline team hard to come by in the past couple of years.

"I can't count how many times we've had those type of conversations [about him not being selected] but he thoroughly deserves his chance this weekend," said Farrell, who added that McCloskey has "upped" his leadership qualities.

Those summer wins were a breakout for Leinster wing O'Brien, who scored four tries over the two games, and Ireland fans will hope the 27-year-old proves an able deputy for Hansen.