By Alec McQuarrie

Ireland's Head Coach Ged Corcoran has made just one change to the squad that was declared for the opening match against Jamaica last Sunday, with Robbie Mulhern stepping into the team whilst James McDonnell comes out for this fixture due to a minor stomach bug.

In the 48-2 victory over the Reggae Warriors last Sunday, nine debuts were made and Dan Norman could be the tenth as the Wolfhounds hope to make it back-to-back wins ahead of facing the number one ranked side in the world, New Zealand.

Michael Cheika, meanwhile, has brought in Bulldogs playmaker Khaled Rajab and Bilal Maarbani who replace suspended star Adam Doueihi and Josh Maree respectively.

Doueihi is facing a one match ban for foul and abusive language in the 34-12 loss to New Zealand, forcing him to miss this crucial match that could well decide who progresses to the knockout rounds.

Ireland: 1 Richie Myler, 3 Ed Chamberlain, 4 Toby King, 5 Innes Senior,  6 Luke Keary, 7 Joe Keyes, 8 Liam Byrne, 9 Josh Cook, 10 Jaimin Jolliffe, 11 James Bentley, 12 Frankie Halton, 13 George King (C),15 Harry Rushton, 16 Brendan O’Hagan, 17 Dan Norman, 19 Robbie Mulhern, 20 Louis Senior, 21 Ronan Michael, 22 James Hasson 

READ MORE: Match in Pictures - Jamaica 2-48 Ireland

Lebanon: 17 Jalal Bazzaz, 10 Hanna El-Nachar, 11 Elie El-Zakhem, 8 Kayne Kalache, 15 Andrew Kazzi, 1 Jacob Kiraz, 14 Anthony Layoun, 3 B. MAARBANI, 2 Josh Mansour, 5 Abbas Miski, 4 Brandon Morkos, 7 Mitch Moses (C), 19 Khalil Rahme, 20 Jaxson Rahme, 18 K. RAJEB, 16 Reece Robinson, 13 James Roumanos, 9 Mikey Tannous, 12 Charbel Tasipale

READ MORE: Five things we learned from New Zealand's win over Lebanon

Head-to-head

Lebanon have never lost to Ireland in their three previous meetings, drawing twice and winning once.

Their last encounter was in 2009, when Lebanon recorded a 40-16 win in Bridgend and this will be the first time they've faced each other at the Rugby League World Cup.

Fun fact

Of teams to have played more than one game, only Russia and South Africa have a worse win rate at the Rugby League World Cup than Lebanon - W1 D1 L6.

Ireland could equal their best ever winning run at the tournament with a third straight win, which they set back in 2000.

Ireland record

Ireland first qualified for the Rugby League World Cup in 2000 as co-hosts, registering their best performance to date of fifth place.

They have featured in every tournament since, coming ninth in 2017 after failing to advance from their group, despite two wins over Wales and Italy.

They are in fine form winning their last three men's internationals by an aggregate score of 115-14.

Lebanon record

The 2017 Rugby League World Cup was just the second time the Cedars have qualified for the tournament.

Mitchell Moses put in a Player of the Match performance in their opening game to claim their first ever win, a 29-18 victory over France.

Since then, they've lost three on the bounce to England, Australia and most recently New Zealand on Sunday - 34-12.

Players to watch

• Flying winger Josh Mansour has scored seven tries in his 11 international appearances including one try in each of his four games for Lebanon so far; he also scored a try when he and his country last faced Ireland in November 2009.
• There were only five players to score a try, make a try assist, a line break, and a line break assist in the first round of the 2021 men’s Rugby League World Cup and three of them were Ireland Wolfhounds: Ed Chamberlain, James Bentley and Brendan O’Hagan
• Wolfhound centre Toby King made seven offloads throughout the opening round, two more than any other player in the competition

The Rugby League World Cup promises to be the biggest, best and most inclusive event in the sport’s 127-year history with men’s, women’s and wheelchair teams competing in 61 games across 21 venues throughout England. Tickets are available via rlwc2021.com/tickets