The first-ever edition of the Nations Championship is almost upon us, and Andy Farrell has some big calls ahead as he names his Ireland squad to travel to the southern hemisphere.<\/p>\n
We have all the info you need on the squad as the Ireland head coach prepares for a three-game series down under.<\/p>\n
When will Andy Farrell name Ireland squad?<\/p>\n
Andy Farrell will name his Ireland squad for the Nations Championship on Wednesday, June 17th, at 4pm.<\/p>\n
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The big calls in Andy Farrell’s squad<\/p>\n
With several backline stars out injured, there are big calls to make on whether a wave of young stars come in to this Ireland squad.<\/p>\n
The biggest call, though, is almost certainly at fly-half. With Jack Crowley sidelined in the closing weeks of the season, Farrell has a dilemma as to which 10s to bring to the Southern Hemisphere.<\/p>\n
Harry Byrne spent the latter half of the season as Leinster’s first-choice, but looked out of sorts in their Champions Cup final thrashing at the hands of Bordeaux. Sam Prendergast, meanwhile, has been dogged by inconsistency for quite some time now.<\/p>\n
Ciar\u00e1n Frawley’s case is the most interesting, with the Connacht-bound star seeing limited game time at Leinster, but impressing whenever given the opportunity.<\/p>\n
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Which players are ruled out?<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n There are set to be some major absentees for Andy Farrell, with Mack Hansen and Stuart McCloskey both likely to be sidelined along.<\/p>\n Farrell and his coaching team will have serious concerns, too, on the fitness of Tadhg Beirne, Jack Crowley, and Andrew Porter. Beirne and Crowley missed the tail-end of Munster’s season<\/a> through injury, while Porter has been ruled out of this Friday’s URC fina<\/a>l between Leinster and the Bulls.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n