Ireland A will host a New Zealand All Blacks XV on Friday night, November 4th at the RDS. Following on from Ireland’s 2-1 Test series victory in New Zealand during the summer — the midweek side also shared the spoils, 1-1, in two matches against the Maori All Blacks — the two countries will meet again, this time at A level.
The game takes place the day before Andy Farrell’s Ireland team opening their November series against world champions South Africa at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday, November 5th. No kick-off time or television arrangements for the A match have been confirmed but tickets for the game should go on sale in the next week or so.
It marks a busy period in Irish rugby as the following Wednesday, November 10th, Munster host a South Africa XV at a sold-out Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
The premise behind the Ireland A game at the RDS is to provide a high calibre competitive environment in which to further examine the credentials of those who might have the capacity to make the Ireland squad for the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France.
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The start of that process of examining the depth of the playing roster in Irish rugby begins at the end of the month when an Emerging Ireland squad heads for South Africa where they will play three fixtures in the Toyota Challenge.
The Irish tourists will face Currie Cup sides, the Windhoek Griquas on September 30th, the Pumas on October 5th and the Cheetahs on October 9th. All three matches will take place at the home at the Toyota stadium, home of the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein.
Simon Easterby, who will fulfil the role of head coach in Farrell’s absence, will be supported by fellow senior Irish coaches in Mike Catt, Paul O’Connell, and John Fogarty. A 35-strong Emerging Ireland squad is set to be announced on Wednesday.
The majority of the squad will be made up of promising young players, most of whom have been drawn from the Ireland Under-20 age-grade sides over the past few seasons, supplemented by a handful of more experienced players, like for example Leinster’s Ciarán Frawley, who is expected to travel.
The players that excel in South Africa will naturally come into the reckoning for selection in the Ireland A game against the All Blacks XV and potentially one or two could well force their way into the senior Ireland side for the middle match in the November test series against Fiji.
