Ireland head coach Andy Farrell has named three uncapped players in his extended 36-man squad for the upcoming Nations Championship Tests.
Farrell’s side take on Australia, Japan and the All Blacks across July, as they look to build on a second-placed finish in this year’s Six Nations.
They are dealing with a number of injury concerns, though, with Ryan Baird, Shayne Bolton, Jack Boyle, Jack Crowley, Edwin Edogbo, Tom Farrell, Mack Hansen, Paddy McCarthy, Calvin Nash and Andrew Porter all unavailable this summer.
Andy Farrell names extended 36-man Ireland squad for Nations Championship
The uncapped trio all come in the forward pack, with Connacht men Billy Bohan, Sam Illo and Sean Jansen included for the three-Test tour. Elsewhere, though, it is a pretty settled group.
Caelan Doris will once again serve as captain, while the likes of Tadhg Berine, Jack Conan, Tadhg Furlong, Joe McCarthy, James Ryan and Josh van der Flier all feature in the pack.
Farrell has also kept the backline fairly consistent, too, with Sam Prendergast, Bundee Aki, Ciaran Frawley, Jamison Gibson-Park and Garry Ringrose all included. However, James Lowe misses out on selection, with him set for a move to Japan next season.
Commenting on his squad, Farrell said: “I’m pleased to announce the Ireland squad for the opening three rounds of the Nations Championship. This competition will bring the best of the northern hemisphere up against their southern counterparts and the road for that Sunday evening slot for Finals Weekend in London starts now.
“We have three tough Tests against Australia, Japan and New Zealand and it’s important that we hit the ground running in this new tournament.
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“The experience of playing Down Under will be priceless for us and even though we’ll be playing in front of largely partisan home crowds, we are also excited about playing in front of a huge Irish support. Their dedication to the team never ceases to amaze us and with a huge diaspora Down Under I’m sure we can count on a large Irish following in Sydney, Newcastle and then on to Auckland.
“For us, we are aiming to build on our positive performances during the recent Guinness Men’s Six Nations.”
The non-Leinster players have already undergone a three-day mini-camp ahead of the tour, which Farrell felt was a positive experience.
“The non-Leinster contingent across the three Provinces have completed a three-day training block this week in the IRFU High Performance Centre ahead of our departure on Monday and it has given us the chance to look at the squad going forward,” he said. “Congratulations to Billy, Sam and Sean on their selections and each of them has earned the right to be selected after their performances this season.
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“Their selection, allied to an experienced majority who we hope to see perform strongly for Leinster in the BKT URC final on Friday night, will add great energy to the squad which we’ve been building over the last number of campaigns.”
Ireland Nations Championship squad in full
Forwards: Tadhg Beirne, Billy Bohan, Thomas Clarkson, Jack Conan, Caelan Doris (c), Tadhg Furlong, Sam Illo, Cormac Izuchukwu, Sean Jansen, Ronan Kelleher, Jeremy Loughman, Joe McCarthy, Darragh Murray, Tom O’Toole, Cian Prendergast, James Ryan, Dan Sheehan, Tom Stewart, Nick Timoney, Josh van der Flier
Backs: Bundee Aki, Rob Baloucoune, Harry Byrne, Craig Casey, Nathan Doak, Ciaran Frawley, Jamison Gibson-Park, Robbie Henshaw, Hugo Keenan, Stuart McCloskey, Jimmy O’Brien, Tommy O’Brien, Jamie Osborne, Sam Prendergast, Garry Ringrose, Jacob Stockdale