Ireland prop swap 'a bit strange' - Mike Ross

Former Ireland international Mike Ross says it is "a bit strange" that Cian Healy and Finlay Bealham are training to cover both prop positions in the front row, despite the two players specialising in contrasting roles.

On Thursday, Andy Farrell named his Irish side to face the All Blacks in Saturday's first Test of the New Zealand tour in Auckland.

Healy, who was a major doubt after being carted off with an ankle injury in Wednesday's defeat to the Maori All Blacks, has been included in the matchday squad and will be on the bench alongside Connacht's Bealham.

But Farrell suggested that Healy and Bealham, who have been specialist loosehead and tighthead props respectively throughout their careers, are training to cover both positions.

"It is a bit strange. I know Cian very well and he'll back himself at anything but Cian has a 100-odd caps at loosehead and Finlay has played the vast majority of his career at tighthead," Ross, a specialist tighthead during his own career, told RTÉ's Game On.

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"So I'm not really understanding why you'd want to swap them around, except maybe most of our looseheads are probably the wrong side of 30, so maybe they're looking at moving Finlay across, because he's been playing well and he's been finishing off games well.

"So maybe that's what they're looking at. I don't know but I'll wait and see if Cian does come on at tighthead or Finlay does come on at loose."

On the overall Ireland XV selected, Ross said Farrell was going back to utilising players