IRELAND COACH Declan Kidney has announced a 34-man panel for a third and final training camp which takes place in Dublin next Tuesday and Wednesday in preparation for the November Test series that will see the national side take on Australia and South Africa at Croke Park and Fiji at the RDS.
The squad comprises only players based in Ireland as the IRB regulations don’t require clubs to release players outside of strictly delineated Test match windows. The IRFU are entitled to seek the release of players for one squad get-together outside the November series and many of the English- and Welsh-based players were included in the August camp.
It means there is no place for Tommy Bowe (Ospreys), Geordan Murphy (Leicester), John Murphy (Leicester) and Bob Casey (London Irish) amongst others based in Britain.
The squad is split into 20 forwards – Alan Quinlan (Munster) and Malcolm O’Kelly (Leinster) don’t feature – and 14 backs; it contains six uncapped players and Leinster duo Bernard Jackman and Eoin Reddan are included for the first time this season.
Kidney explained: “The two camps we have had have been hugely beneficial in terms of continuing the work from last season and preparing for the year ahead in what will certainly be a big challenge for the squad.”
IRELAND(Squad, *denotes uncapped): Tony Buckley (Munster), Tom Court (Ulster), *Sean Cronin (Connacht), Leo Cullen (Leinster), Gordon D'Arcy (Leinster), Keith Earls (Munster), Stephen Ferris (Ulster), Luke Fitzgerald (Leinster), Jerry Flannery (Munster), John Hayes (Munster), *Cian Healy (Leinster), Jamie Heaslip (Leinster), Marcus Horan (Munster), Shane Horgan (Leinster), Bernard Jackman (Leinster), Shane Jennings (Leinster), Robert Kearney (Leinster), Denis Leamy (Munster), *Fergus McFadden (Leinster), Donncha O'Callaghan (Munster), Paul O'Connell (Munster), Mick O'Driscoll (Munster), Brian O'Driscoll (Leinster), Ronan O'Gara (Munster), Tomas O'Leary (Munster), Eoin Reddan (Leinster), Donnacha Ryan (Munster), *Jonathan Sexton (Leinster), Peter Stringer (Munster), *Devin Toner (Leinster), Andrew Trimble (Ulster), David Wallace (Munster), Paddy Wallace (Ulster), *Brett Wilkinson (Connacht).
