Down under.

Ireland’s summer tour of Australia kicks off on Saturday week with the first of three Tests set to take place Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium.

Joe Schmidt has resisted leaving any of his big stars at home, with the likes of Conor Murray, Johnny Sexton and Tadhg Furlong all set to travel as part of a 32-man squad.

Ireland will be absolutely brimming with confidence heading into the opening fixture on the back on their Grand Slam victory and Leinster’s unprecedented double.

But Michael Cheika’s Wallabies will be no pushovers. The Australia teams are performing a hell of a lot better in Super Rugby this season, and home advantage will be huge.

For the first Test we reckon Schmidt will go all out with selection and pick the strongest available. It’s important to start well on any tour, and set a marker down for what’s to come.

That being said – here’s the side we reckon Schmidt will go with.

Possible Ireland team vs Australia 1st Test

15. Rob Kearney
14. Keith Earls
13. Garry Ringrose
12. Bundee Aki
11. Jacob Stockdale
10. Johnny Sexton
9. Conor Murray

1. Cian Healy
2. Rory Best (c)
3. Tadhg Furlong
4. Devin Toner
5. James Ryan
6. Peter O’Mahony
7. Dan Leavy
8. CJ Stander

The only positions we reckon that might vary are the second-row and possibly the centres. Iain Henderson may take Toner’s spot if he’s fit and ready for the first Test. Or Schmidt could even surprise us and throw Tadhg Beirne straight in.

Fitness may dictate the centre partnership too. Both Aki and Henshaw are injured at the moment, but it’s the latter that has the more serious problem.

Either way it’s going to be a fairly strong starting line-up for the 1st Test that will fancy themselves to come away with a win from Brisbane.

IRELAND SUMMER TOUR 2018 FIXTURES

Saturday 9th June, 2018
Australia v IRELAND
Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, KO 20.05 local (11.05 IE)

Saturday 16th June, 2018
Australia v IRELAND
AAMI Park, Melbourne, KO 20.05 local (11.05 IE)

Saturday 23rd June, 2018
Australia v IRELAND
Allianz Park, Sydney KO 20.05 local (11.05 IE)