Joey Carbery is set for his second Six Nations start in a row on Sunday as Brian O'Driscoll warns that the Ireland's best policy is not to over-rely on Johnny Sexton.
The Ireland captain's hamstring injury has cleared up and, he took on media duties again on Tuesday, it was expected he would come back into the side after missing the France defeat.
However, Sexton was this afternoon be named on the bench by Andy Farrell for the Aviva Stadium clash with Italy.
For O'Driscoll, there is a balancing act to be made between the two no 10s - but he warns that Ireland can't afford to put all their eggs in one basket by picking Sexton for every game.
Sexton's desire to play every Test game is understandable, says his former Leinster and Ireland colleague.
But O'Driscoll believes that the veteran skipper will accept Carbery being picked ahead of him if he knows the move will further Ireland's World Cup ambitions.
O'Driscoll sees merit in Carbery being handed back to back starts, but stressed: "It's tricky to not play your captain if he's fit, particularly if you're looking at being ready for England.
“Johnny's one of the players that could play against England having got 20 or 30 minutes against Italy.
“There's not many who could fit in like that, Robbie (Henshaw) is probably the other that springs to mind.
“It's a tough one. I'd love to see Joey get more game time - not necessarily just this weekend, but over the course of the year.
“They've got to find a way because you cannot rely, going into a World Cup, on a guy of Sexton's senior years.
"You just can't put all your eggs into one basket.
“He picked up a soft tissue injury last week - it does naturally happen the older you get, you have more of them.
“We have to be mindful that we give enough game-time to our perceived second-string player - make sure that they're equipped and ready to go with the necessary game experience to take on World Cup matches.
“The fact it was his first Six Nations start (last week) said it all. I'd definitely encourage that Joey does get more game time - maybe that will be in New Zealand (on the summer tour).
“I don't know whether Johnny will travel down there, maybe he'll get two or three Tests there.
"But over the course of the coming months, he (Carbery) needs more starts.”
O'Driscoll added: "As much as Johnny is looking out for himself, Johnny will also see the bigger picture. He is not a completely selfish player.
“There's a selflessness that has come in with his captaincy too, where he does see the bigger picture.
“I think he'd be absolutely accepting if Andy Farrell said, 'I'm thinking of going with Joey'.
"I'd imagine he'd argue the point that, 'Well, maybe me this week and maybe an alternative game for Joey'.
“You don't want to miss out on Test matches but if it's for a bigger picture of a World Cup, I think Johnny will absolutely accept that.
“He has shown a real maturity over the last few years.”
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