MEN’S INTERNATIONAL MATCH:
Saturday, November 8 –
SPAIN v IRELAND XV, Estadio Municipal de Butarque, Leganés, 5pm local time/4pm Irish time (live on RugbyPass TV)
Team News: Selected as captain, Ulster hooker Tom Stewart is one of ten Ireland senior internationals in the starting XV as some fringe players and emerging young talent get a chance to impress the national coaching team.
Stewart, Darragh Murray, Michael Milne, Ben Murphy, Shayne Bolton, and Tom O’Toole all played during Ireland’s summer tour to Georgia and Portugal, with four of them making their Test debuts in July.
Limerick man Tucker, who was part of the coaching team for that tour, leads this freshly-assembled squad and is assisted by backs & attack coach Mossy Lawler, Jimmy Duffy as forwards coach, and defence coach Sean O’Brien.
Bolton joins Ulster pair Michael Lowry and Robert Baloucoune in the back-three, with the latter having scored a hat-trick recently against the Lions. Dan Kelly, Munster’s ex-Ireland Under-20 centre, will partner Jude Postlethwaite in midfield.
Leinster out-half Harry Byrne and Connacht’s Murphy form the half-back pairing, while there is an all-senior international front row as the 24-year-old Stewart will pack down with O’Toole, who has 17 Test caps to his name, and Milne.
Murray and Evan O’Connell will start together in the engine room, and Paul Boyle gets the nod at number 8, having replaced the injured Sean Jansen in the group this week. Alex Soroka and Ruadhán Quinn fill the flanker berths.
The Ireland XV coaches also have exciting options on the bench, with Lee Barron, recent Leinster debutant Alex Usanov, Scott Wilson, Diarmuid Mangan, and David McCann the forward reinforcements, while Nathan Doak, Cathal Forde, and Zac Ward are the back-line options.
Speaking ahead of the clash with Spain, Tucker said: “It’s not just a match. It’s five days to prepare yourself for a game. It’s pushing yourself out of your comfort zone to connect with other people from other provinces, both on and off the pitch.
“You learn a lot about them. As coaches, we learn so much about them during the week and then the proof of the pudding will be in the performance at the weekend.
“Putting our stock into the team and how we play collectively both sides of the ball will breed opportunity for them. For us it’s been ‘team first’ all week, us performing collectively and that’ll put the best foot forward for the people on the pitch to hopefully put their hands up in the future.
“I think stretching players and pushing them out of our comfort zone as much as we can is where we need to put them so they can put their hand up to kick on and challenge the guys in the senior squad.”
He added: “We unfortunately lost Sean Jansen the other evening, and Paul Boyle has replaced him. James Culhane had to pull out too last week, from the original squad.”
Meanwhile, Spain head coach Pablo Bouza can rely on a good deal of international experience in his starting line-up, particularly in the tight five, at half-back, and in the outside backs.
Getxo native and Pau prop Jon Zabala will captain los Leones on their debut at Leganés’ Estadio Municipal de Butarque. Zabala and his team-mates have plenty to play for, ahead of further matches against England ‘A’ and Fiji, and with the Rugby World Cup now under two years away.
It was a milestone moment for Spain last February when they qualified for their second ever Men’s Rugby World Cup, having last competed on the sport’s biggest stage in 1999.
They were runners-up to Georgia in last season’s Rugby Europe Championship, losing the final 46-28 in Tbilisi, before winning away to the USA (31-20) and Canada (24-23) during their July tour of North America.
RC Massy’s Gonzalo López Bontempo was one of the players to stand out in those last three outings, scoring 18 points against Georgia, and a further 28 during those two summer Tests. Iñaki Mateu continues as his centre partner.
Loosehead Thierry Futeu has the most Test caps in the Spanish side with 42, and English-born lock Matthew Foulds, who captains the Castilla y León Iberians in the Rugby Europe Super Cup, is another player to watch out for.
There is continuity at half-back where Iberians duo Gonzalo Vinuesa and Estanisao Bay will marshall the backs, while the second row and back row features some promising youngsters playing for French clubs, including Bayonne flanker Manex Ariceta in the Top 14.
20-year-old scrum half Nicolás Infer is the only uncapped player on the Spanish bench. He played against Ireland at the World Rugby Under-20 Championship in the summer, kicking 10 points in a 38-37 play-off defeat in Calvisano.
SPAIN: John Wessel Bell (Harlequins Rugby Club, Pretoria); Martiniano Cian (VRAC Quesos Entrepinares), Iñaki Mateu (Recoletas Burgos – Caja Rural), Gonzalo López Bontempo (RC Massy), Alberto Carmona (US Colomiers); Gonzalo Vinuesa (Complutense Cisneros), Estanisao Bay (Cajasol Real Ciencias Sevilla – Caja Rural); Thierry Futeu (Liceo Francés), Santiago Ovejero (Recoletas Burgos – Caja Rural), Jon Zabala (Section Paloise) (capt), Matthew Foulds (UE Santboiana), Ignacio Piñeiro (FC Grenoble), Manex Ariceta (Aviron Bayonnais), Vicente Boronat (Recoletas Burgos – Caja Rural), Ekain Imaz (Biarritz Olympique).
Replacements: Álvaro García (Stade Français), Raúl Calzón (VRAC Quesos Entrepinares), Joaquín Domínguez (Os Belenenses), Imanol Urraza (Recoletas Burgos – Caja Rural), Matheo Triki (INEXO El Salvador), Nicolás Infer (Complutense Cisneros), Álex Saleta (VRAC Quesos Entrepinares), Lucien Richardis (Stade Toulousain).
IRELAND XV: Michael Lowry (Banbridge RFC/Ulster); Robert Baloucoune (Ballynahinch RFC/Ulster), Jude Postlethwaite (City of Armagh RFC/Ulster), Dan Kelly (Munster), Shayne Bolton (Connacht); Harry Byrne (UCD RFC/Leinster), Ben Murphy (Clontarf FC/Connacht); Michael Milne (UCD RFC/Munster), Tom Stewart (Ballynahinch RFC/Ulster) (capt), Tom O’Toole (Ballynahinch RFC/Ulster), Evan O’Connell (Young Munster RFC/Munster), Darragh Murray (Buccaneers RFC/Connacht), Alex Soroka (Clontarf FC/Leinster), Ruadhán Quinn (Young Munster RFC/Munster), Paul Boyle (Buccaneers RFC/Connacht).
Replacements: Lee Barron (Dublin University FC/Munster), Alex Usanov (Clontarf FC/Leinster), Scott Wilson (Queen’s University Belfast RFC/Ulster), Diarmuid Mangan (UCD RFC/Leinster), David McCann (Banbridge RFC/Ulster), Nathan Doak (Banbridge RFC/Ulster), Cathal Forde (Galway Corinthians RFC/Connacht), Zac Ward (Ballynahinch RFC/Ulster).
Referee: Tomás Bertazza (UAR)
Pre-Match Quotes: Tom Stewart (Ireland) –
Any time you can pull on a green jersey, never mind captain a side, it’s very special. I’m looking forward to the challenge this weekend.
“It’s frustrating at times when you know you’re not going to get selected, but that’s the game we play. There’s hard decisions for coaches every day and hard realities for players each day and each week, whether you don’t start, don’t play at all or don’t get selected for international camps.
“There are boys who are disappointed across the provinces about not making this autumn series, but this kind of game (against Spain) is a great opportunity for the likes of myself and Mick Milne who were in for the summer.
“It’s hard, but it’s the reality for us and this week is a great opportunity for us to go and show what we can do in a green jersey. This is another step closer to the end goal.
“It’s great for the younger guys coming up to see what it’s like to be a part of a national set-up, and good for guys like myself to know I’m not a million miles away.”
Shayne Bolton (Ireland) –
The coach (Andy Farrell) has been giving me a few work-ons in my game. I got loads of information (during Ireland’s stint in Chicago), just seeing how the boys look at the game, especially the back-threes.
“How they look at the game, what they’re looking at, and how we can take opportunities in the game, looking for where we can attack in the game.
“I think it was a really big two weeks for me, just being in the (senior) camp with them and seeing how the preparations go before a big Test week and just getting that feeling and the buzz around the place.
“I feel way more comfortable over the last couple of weeks. I know almost everyone now. (I was) very nervous the first time I came in. But now I’m bringing out my personality a bit more and feeling way more comfortable.”
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