Henshaw starts for Ireland - Murray named on Connacht team
Robbie Henshaw will make his first start of this year's Six Nations campaign against Italy on Sunday.
The Athlone man has been selected at inside centre and he will be partnered by his Leinster colleague Garry Ringrose.
But with Joey Carbery set to start his second consecutive Six Nations game and Johnny Sexton returning from injury to take a spot among the replacements, there is no place for Jack Carty in the match-day squad of 23.
There is one debutant in the Ireland team, Michael Lowry at full-back, while the replacements include Finlay Bealham of Buccaneers.
The Ireland v Italy match at the Aviva Stadium kicks off at 3pm on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Niall Murray from Brideswell has been included in the Connacht team for the crucial United Rugby Championship meeting with DHL Stormers at The Sportsground tomorrow (Saturday, kick-off 1pm).
There are four changes from the away win over Scarlets last weekend.
Dave Heffernan and Jack Carty have been replaced in the starting team by Shane Delahunt and Conor Fitzgerald respectively. The other changes sees the return of Denis Buckley to the front row, while Alex Wootton is selected on the left wing, with John Porch moving to full-back.
Commenting on the team announcement, Connacht head coach Andy Friend said: "We are close to must-win territory for all our remaining games in the URC, so that’s why last week’s win was so important for us. We have done our scout on the Stormers and are very aware of the threats that they bring. We know that we will have to front up physically as they’re a big team.
"We’re in a strong position in terms of available players outside the Irish contingent, so it’s a 23 I know are capable of a winning performance in front of our home fans."
Ireland team v Italy: 15. Michael Lowry (Ulster/Banbridge); 14. Mack Hansen (Connacht), 13. Garry Ringrose (Leinster/UCD), 12. Robbie Henshaw (Leinster/Buccaneers), 11. James Lowe (Leinster); 10. Joey Carbery (Munster/Clontarf), 9. Jamison Gibson Park (Leinster); 1. Andrew Porter (Leinster/UCD), 2. Dan Sheehan (Leinster/Lansdowne), 3. Tadhg Furlong (Leinster/Clontarf); 4. Tadhg Beirne (Munster/Lansdowne), 5. Ryan Baird (Leinster/Dublin University); 6. Peter O’Mahony (Munster/Cork Constitution), captain; 7. Josh van der Flier (Leinster/UCD), 8. Caelan Doris (Leinster/St Mary’s College).
Replacements: 16. Rob Herring (Ulster/Ballynahinch), 17. Dave Kilcoyne (Munster/UL Bohemians), 18. Finlay Bealham (Connacht/Buccaneers), 19. Kieran Treadwell (Ulster/Ballymena), 20. Jack Conan (Leinster/Old Belvedere), 21. Craig Casey (Munster/Shannon), 22. Johnny Sexton (Leinster/St Mary’s College), 23. James Hume (Ulster/Banbridge).
Connacht team v DHL Stormers: 15. John Porch; 14. Peter Sullivan, 13. Sammy Arnold, 12. Tom Daly, 11. Alex Wootton; 10. Conor Fitzgerald, 9. Kieran Marmion; 1. Denis Buckley, 2. Shane Delahunt, 3. Tietie Tuimauga; 4. Niall Murray, 5. Leva Fifita; 6. Cian Prendergast, 7. Jarrad Butler (captain), 8. Paul Boyle
Replacements: 16. Jonny Murphy, 17. Jordan Duggan, 18. Jack Aungier, 19. Oisin Dowling, 20. Conor Oliver, 21. Caolin Blade, 22. Tom Farrell, 23. Abraham Papali’i