Ireland squad news:In a somewhat perplexing move, the Irish management have elected to call a raft of players not involved in their initial selection into a 'trimmed down' 31-man squad for next Sunday's international against Australia.
There are now six newcomers in Declan Kidney’s party. Of the original 39 panel that went through their paces in Limerick this week, 12 now find themselves relegated to the ‘A’ squad for next Saturday’s game against Tonga at Ravenhill.
As such, Bob Casey, Mick O’Driscoll, Felix Jones, Ian Dowling, Niall Ronan and John Muldoon – who could have been forgiven for believing they were surplus to requirements this November – could face the Wallabies in nine days time.
Heading in the opposite direction are the likes of Peter Stringer, Shane Horgan, Darren Cave, Andrew Trimble and Mike Ross. Marcus Horan has been ruled out following a “routine medical procedure” while Tony Buckley is also on the injured list.
Horan’s condition, the subject of much speculation during the week, remains unclear with the IRFU merely confirming that he will not be available until at least the new year.
“Following further tests this week, Horan underwent a routine medical procedure today and will undergo a period of rest over the next number of weeks,” the IRFU said in a statement. “It is expected that he will be available to Munster and Ireland after the New Year.”
Horan was substituted during Munster's Heineken Cup win over Treviso last month after feeling dizzy.
Jerry Flannery has been retained in the squad for the match against Australia as he continues rehab following the calf tear that has limited his involvement this season.
Elsewhere on the injury front, Denis Leamy, Paddy Wallace and Tomas O’Leary all sat out training today as they recuperate from colds but everyone else was able to play some part in the session in Limerick.
Ireland Squad (31) v Australia
Tommy Bowe (Ospreys)
Bob Casey (London Irish)
Tom Court (Malone/Ulster)
Sean Cronin (Buccaneers/Connacht)
Leo Cullen (Blackrock College/Leinster)
Gordon D'Arcy (Lansdowne/Leinster)
Ian Dowling (Shannon/Munster)
Keith Earls (Young Munster/Munster)
Stephen Ferris (Dungannon/Ulster)
Luke Fitzgerald (Blackrock College/Leinster)
Jerry Flannery (Shannon/Munster)
John Fogarty (De La Salle Palmerston/Leinster)
John Hayes (Bruff/Munster)
Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster)
Jamie Heaslip (Naas/Leinster)
Denis Hurley (Cork Constitution/Munster)
Felix Jones (Shannon/Munster)
Robert Kearney (UCD/Leinster)
Denis Leamy (Cork Constitution/Munster)
John Muldoon (Galwegians/Connacht)
Donncha O'Callaghan (Cork Constitution/Munster)
Paul O'Connell (Young Munster/Munster)
Mick O'Driscoll (Cork Constitution/Munster)
Brian O'Driscoll (UCD/Leinster)
Ronan O'Gara (Cork Constitution/Munster)
Tomas O'Leary (Dolphin/Munster)
Eoin Reddan (Lansdowne/Leinster)
Niall Ronan (Shannon/Munster)
Jonathan Sexton (St.Mary's College/Leinster)
David Wallace (Garryowen/Munster)
Paddy Wallace (Ballymena/Ulster)
Ireland A Squad (22) v Tonga
Neil Best (Northampton)
Isaac Boss (Ballymena/Ulster)
Darren Cave (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster)
Gavin Duffy (Galwegians/Connacht)
Denis Fogarty (Cork Constitution/Munster)
Chris Henry (Ballymena/Ulster)
Shane Horgan (Boyne/Leinster)
Ian Humphreys (Ballymena/Ulster)
Ian Keatley (Galwegians/Connacht)
Fergus McFadden (Old Belvedere/Leinster)
Kevin McLaughlin (UCD/Leinster)
Johne Murphy (Leicester)
Sean O'Brien (Clontarf/Leinster)
Michael Ross (Clontarf/Leinster)
Donnacha Ryan (Shannon/Munster)
Peter Stringer (Shannon/Munster)
Devin Toner (Lansdowne/Leinster)
Andrew Trimble (Ballymena/Ulster)
Dan Tuohy (Ballymena/Ulster)
Brett Wilkinson (Galwegians/Connacht)
Bryan Young (Ballymena/Ulster)
A.N. Other
