Simon Easterby says Jamie Osborne's versatility is a key reason for the 23-year-old's inclusion on the wing for Saturday’s crucial Guinness Six Nations meeting with France.
The Leinster back replaces Mack Hansen on the right wing in the biggest call for Saturday’s penultimate game of the championship, getting the nod over Munster’s Calvin Nash.
Hansen misses out with a minor quad strain, with Osborne moving from full-back to the 14 shirt, and while he has featured on the left wing for Leinster in the past - most recently in the Investec Champions Cup wins against La Rochelle and Bath - he has never been started on the right for his province.
"He's done pretty well so far across the short international career he's had. He's a fabulous footballer, first and foremost," Easterby said of Osborne.
"He's got a physical presence and he's also got a really smart rugby brain. He understands the game and the feel of the game."
And while both Leinster and Ireland have made regular use of Osborne’s kicking ability off his left foot, Easterby doesn't expect that to be hampered playing out on the right wing.
"So we've got a bit of flexibility there in terms of his positioning, a flexibility to move him around a little bit in certain parts of the field so we can utilise his left [foot], but he's also got a right foot as well.
"There's a bit of flexibility within the system that would allow us to utilise him and Hugo [Keenan] in different positions."
The Ireland coach (above) also cited Osborne’s versatility as a major reason behind his decision to go with a 6:2 split of forwards to backs on the bench, something Ireland haven't done since round four of last year's championship against England.
While Ireland have chosen a 5:3 split for their previous three games in this championship, Saturday is expected to be a step up in physicality, with seven forwards among the French replacements.
Easterby says he hasn't been swayed by France’s selections, but flagged captain Caelan Doris’s return from a knee injury as another reason to load his bench with an extra back-row forward.
"We felt with Caelan, who's done incredibly well to get back to full fitness and done a brilliant job with the medical staff, has been able to get himself right from an injury which other players might not have been able to do that in a short space of time.
"We needed to make sure we had good coverage in the back-row, the guys we had starting in Wales in Jack Conan was very good, he's come off the bench well and obviously Ryan Baird came off the bench in Cardiff and James Ryan did as well.
"We felt the dynamics of that pack and how France might play the game, meant we felt that it was a nice chunky back-five of our scrum to come on and make an impact.
"As well as having someone like Jamie [Osborne] from the start and can cover a number of positions."
Elsewhere, Tadhg Furlong (below) remains absent, with the tighthead prop continuing to battle hamstring and calf injuries.
But Easterby has once again given out optimistic signals about the possibility of him being available for Ireland in Rome next week.
"Certainly, yeah," was his response when asked if the 32-year-old was in contention for the final game against Italy.
"He trained with Leinster last week, did a bit with them. Did a bit more with us and it's been a continual progression in terms of getting as many training minutes under his belt.
"He's hit scrums this week so he wasn't massively far away from it, but I guess it's just making sure that there was a confidence he could get through.
"Training is one thing, getting through 40, 50, 60 minutes of an international game is different.
"We were building up towards this and we still feel like he's in a really good place and he feels confident that he has hit the steps he needed to but it was just probably a few days too early."
