Van der Flier replaces injured Leavy for All Blacks Test

Josh van der Flier will start for Ireland in their Test match with world champions New Zealand on Saturday after fellow flanker Dan Leavy dropped out, an IRFU spokesman said on Friday. Van der Flier played in the 54-7 win over Italy a fortnight ago but did not feature in last Saturday's 28-7 victory against Argentina. The 25-year-old, whose Dutch grandparents emigrated to Ireland in the 1950s, has played well for Leinster this season after returning from a cruciate ligament injury he suffered in Ireland's Six Nations win over France in February. His Leinster team-mate Leavy, who was one of the new faces to star in Ireland's Six Nations Grand Slam exploits last season, impressed against Argentina last weekend but failed to train on Thursday, with a spokesman saying he had general muscle tightness. Jordi Murphy fills van der Flier's place on the bench. "From our point of view it doesn't affect us that much, we are replacing one quality player with another," said captain Rory Best. "I think Josh and Dan are rather similar players. Josh will bring his game and fit in seamlessly," Best added.