Declan Kidney will bring together some 37 players for a training camp at the end of this week as the Ireland coach continues his preparations for the new season. The squad, to include players involved in British and Irish Lions tour of South Africa, will assemble in Limerick on Sunday.
The Irish Lions had been excused from duty at a training get together in Belfast last month after their exertions on the high veldt but are now back in training.
Tomas O’Leary and Jerry Flannery, who missed that tour having picked up injuries before the squad departed, will both be present.
So will Brian O’Driscoll and Stephen Ferris, who returned home early from South Africa.
“The Belfast camp was productive in that we were able to continue to work with the players and pick up where we left off from the summer tour and the Churchill Cup,” Kidney said today.
“A lot of players are being given an opportunity and from that point of view as well, we were happy with the spread of players we were in contact with in Belfast.
“The next camp will be slightly different as the players involved with the Lions tour come back into the fold, so it allows us to set some foundations for the coming season.”
Kidney will hold another training camp in September ahead of the autumn internationals against South Africa, Australia and Fiji.
Ireland Squad
Neil Best (Northampton)
Rory Best (Banbridge/Ulster)
Tommy Bowe (Ospreys)
Tony Buckley (Shannon/Munster)
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 Hayes (Shannon/Munster)
Jamie Heaslip (Naas/Leinster)
Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster)
Marcus Horan (Shannon/Munster)
Shane Horgan (Boyne/Leinster)
Shane Jennings (St.Mary’s College/Leinster)
Robert Kearney (UCD/Leinster)
Denis Leamy (Cork Constitution/Munster)
Fergus McFadden (UCD/Leinster)
Geordan Murphy (Leicester)
Brian O’Driscoll (UCD/Leinster)
Donncha O’Callaghan (Cork Constitution/Munster)
Paul O’Connell (Young Munster/Munster)
Mick O’Driscoll (Cork Constitution/Munster)
Ronan O’Gara (Cork Constitution/Munster)
Tomas O’Leary (Dolphin/Munster)
Donnacha Ryan (Shannon/Munster)
Jonathan Sexton (St.Mary’s College/Leinster)
Peter Stringer (Shannon/Munster)
Devon Toner (Lansdowne/Leinster)
Andrew Trimble (Ballymena/Ulster)
David Wallace (Garryowen/Munster)
Paddy Wallace (Ballymena/Ulster)
Brett Wilkinson (Galwegians/Connacht)
