Six uncapped players have been included in the 34-man Ireland panel named by Declan Kidney this afternoon, for what will be the final training camp (September 14th-15th) before the squad reassembles in November ahead of the autumn internationals.
The Connacht duo of hooker Seán Cronin and prop Brett Wilkinson is joined in the squad by Leinster’s Cian Healy, Jonathan Sexton, Fergus McFadden and Devin Toner.
The Leinster pair of hooker Bernard Jackman and scrumhalf Eoin Reddan is included for the first time this season.
The latter's return is reward for a move from Wasps to the European champions and he'll join fellow scrumhalves Peter Stringer and Tomás O'Leary in the squad.
Ronan O'Gara and Sexton are the only two recognised outhalves in the squad, though Ulster centre Paddy Wallace, no stranger to the 10 short, is named as well, unlike provincial teammate Ian Humhpreys or Connacht's Ian Keatley.
New Leinster signing Mike Ross and London Irish captain Bob Casey are absent, but Munster hooker Jerry Flannery, who is still recoverying from the calf injury that kept him out of the Lions Tour, is included.
Up and coming flankers Seán O'Brien of Leinster and Niall Ronan of Munster will be frustrated by their omission, with Denis Leamy, David Wallace, Stephen Ferris and sjane Jennings preferred.
The camp is the third of the summer and offers a final chance for Kidney to take a look at some of the fringe contenders for inclusion in the squads to face Australia, Fiji and South Africa respectively in November.
“The two camps that 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,” said Kidney today.
"The next time we meet as a squad will be November, so hopefully the players can produce good form so that the foundations laid now will benefit us at that point."
Ireland Squad (34)
Tony Buckley (Shannon/Munster)
Tom Court (Malone/Ulster)
Sean Cronin (Buccaneers/Connacht)*
Leo Cullen (Blackrock College/Leinster)
Gordon D'Arcy (Lansdowne/Leinster)
Keith Earls (Young Munster/Munster)
Stephen Ferris (Dungannon/Ulster)
Luke Fitzgerald (Blackrock College/Leinster)
Jerry Flannery (Shannon/Munster)
John Hayes (Bruff/Munster)
Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster)*
Jamie Heaslip (Naas/Leinster)
Marcus Horan (Shannon/Munster)
Shane Horgan (Boyne/Leinster)
Bernard Jackman (Clontarf/Leinster)
Shane Jennings (St.Mary's College/Leinster)
Robert Kearney (UCD/Leinster)
Denis Leamy (Cork Constitution/Munster)
Fergus McFadden (UCD/Leinster)*
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)
Tomás O'Leary (Dolphin/Munster)
Eoin Reddan (Old Crescent/Leinster)
Donnacha Ryan (Shannon/Munster)
Jonathan Sexton (St.Mary's College/Leinster)*
Peter Stringer (Shannon/Munster)
Devin Toner (Lansdowne/Leinster)*
Andrew Trimble (Ballymena/Ulster)
David Wallace (Garryowen/Munster)
Paddy Wallace (Ballymena/Ulster)
Brett Wilkinson (Galwegians/Connacht)*
* uncapped
