England A v Ireland AIreland senior coach Eddie O'Sullivan has outlined his philosophy on matches at this level, welcoming their reinstatement, however partial, as an opportunity to take stock of the progress of young, promising players.
Tonight's match is the second of two, the Ireland side having lost to France A in Limoges earlier in the season.
Where once these matches were occasions to wheel out a second-string team, they are now viewed as developmental. This summer's Churchill Cup in which Ireland participate in a pool with the USA and the New Zealand Maori is an extension of the benchmarking process for fledgling talent.
Rob Kearney's return from injury means he is chosen at fullback, where he made his reputation as an outstanding schoolboy player. He's played most of his senior rugby on the wing for Leinster so it'll be instructive to note how well he reverts.
The three-quarter line is chock-full of pace and ability. One hopes they will get the latitude to express themselves. Tommy Bowe copped a great deal of flak for his performances with the elite side in the Six Nations, a good chunk of which was unwarranted and ill-informed. He'll view this game as an opportunity to respond positively to his detractors.
Kieran Lewis was Ireland's outstanding back in France, shining in the unfamiliar role of inside centre, one he adopts again following the late withdrawal of David Quinlan.
Gavin Duffy, fullback the last day, will wear the number 13 jersey, although he'd be more familiar with the inside-centre role going back to his underage international days.
Kilkenny born Ian Dowling has been a revelation for Munster this season while Jeremy Staunton has been going well for Wasps. Isaac Boss was named at scrumhalf but was forced to withdraw because of injury, giving Tomás O'Leary another chance.
The frontrow of Ray Hogan, John Fogarty and Bryan Young - the latter in particular - performed superbly the last day against a very powerful French trio and this offers another step in their development.
Mick O'Driscoll has arguably been the form secondrow in Irish rugby this season and is partnered by Matt McCullough, who has demonstrated more vim and vigour in recent outings.
The backrow offers power, aggression, pace and athleticism, with Neil Best leading the way for two colleagues who have been touted as potential senior internationals. Therein lies the rub for many of these players.
National coach O'Sullivan will be sitting down to select two squads in the next couple of months, the senior one to tour Australia and New Zealand and its development sibling that will depart for the Churchill Cup in San Francisco and Canada. It is matches like tonight's that will help the coach in making decisions.
Ireland A coach Michael Bradley can only do so much in the limited preparation period but there were signs in the final 30 minutes of the French match that this is a young team of serious potential. Having overcome stage-fright in Limoges, they had their hosts hanging on for dear life at the final whistle.
This England team is a bit of a mishmash of senior squad fringe players like Mark van Gisbergen, Ollie Smith, Bristol scrumhalf Shaun Perry, Louis Deacon, Andy Beattie and Chris Jones and a host of players who may also find themselves at Churchill Cup.
It's interesting to note that London Irish's Nic Kennedy - who qualified to play for either Ireland or England prior to lining out for the latter's A team this season - doesn't make this squad. It seems to confirm the English RFU are simply blocking off dual-qualified players, as in the case of Declan Danaher, among others.
A big night for all concerned.
ENGLAND A: M van Gisbergen (Wasps); P Sackey (Wasps), J Clarke (Northampton), O Smith (Leicester), C Bell (Leeds); S Drahm (Worcester), S Perry (Bristol, capt); T Payne (Wasps), A Titterell (Sale), S Turner (Sale); L Deacon (Leicester), T Palmer (Leeds); A Beattie (Bath), M Lipman (Bath), C Jones (Sale). Replacements: M Cairns (Saracens), N Wood (Gloucester), D Ward-Smith (Bristol), T Rees (Newcastle), N Walshe (Bath), S Vesty (Leicester), D Armitage (London Irish).
IRELAND A: R Kearney (Leinster); T Bowe (Ulster), G Duffy (Harlequins), K Lewis (Leinster), I Dowling (Munster); J Staunton (Wasps), T O'Leary (Munster); R Hogan (Connacht), J Fogarty (Connacht), B Young (Ulster); M O'Driscoll (Munster, capt), M McCullough (Ulster); N Best (Ulster), S Jennings (Leicester), J Heaslip (Leinster). Replacements: B Blaney (Leinster), R McCormack (Leinster), L Cullen (Leicester), R Wilson (Ulster), C Keane (Connacht), P Wallace (Ulster), B Cunningham (Ulster).
