Les Kiss upbeat about Downey's Irish debut

The Ireland interim coach, Les Kiss, will give Munster centre James Downey his international debut against Canada in Toronto in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Kiss has made seven changes to the team that eventually triumphed 15-12 over USA last week, with Andrew Trimble brought in to earn his 50th cap as replacement on the wing for Simon Zebo after his Lions call-up.

Felix Jones also comes into the team at full-back, and with 11 players now recovered from a stomach bug, Kiss has a full complement to choose from, with Ian Madigan getting the nod at fly-half ahead of Paddy Jackson.

“The experience gained on this tour is invaluable and I have no doubt that the players will respond well in what will be another challenging test,” said Kiss, who will be replaced by former Leinster coach Joe Schmidt after the tour ends.