Ireland have made six changes to the starting line-up that was soundly beaten by the All Blacks ahead of Saturday's one-off Test against Australia in Brisbane.
England have been granted the perfect preparation in their bid to retain the Ashes, with three warm-up matches arranged before the first Test in Brisbane.
Justine Henin has withdrawn from the Sydney International after suffering an injury in Saturday night's defeat to
Kim Clijsters in the final of the Brisbane International.
New Zealand survived a late scare to hold off Australia and secure the Tri-Nations trophy with a dramatic 28-24 victory in front of 52,328 fans at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium.