O’Driscoll Back To Skipper ‘A’ Team

…Mick O’Driscoll – who will captain Ireland ‘A’ for the second time this season on Friday. The ‘A’ team lost 20-12 to France in Limoges last month…

Having been a replacement against Scotland in last Saturday’s RBS 6 Nations clash, Mick O’Driscoll returns to captain the Ireland ‘A’ team against England ‘A’ this Friday.

The Irish ‘A’ team management of manager Joey Miles, current Connacht coach Michael Bradley and Ulster coaches Mark McCall and Allen Clarke, have chosen a youthful side for Friday’s fixture, which will be televised live on Sky Sports 2. Rising stars Ian Dowling (Munster) and Bryan Young (Ulster) have both been included.

IRELAND ‘A’ TEAM (v ENGLAND ‘A’, Kingsholm, Gloucester, Friday, March 17, kick-off 7.45pm):

15 – Robert Kearney (UCD/Leinster) 0
14 – Tommy Bowe (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster) 8
13 – Kieran Lewis (St. Mary’s College/Leinster) 1
12 – David Quinlan (Northampton) 1
11 – Ian Dowling (Shannon/Munster) 0
10 – Jeremy Staunton (Wasps) 3
9 – Tomas O’Leary (Dolphin/Munster) 0
1 – Ray Hogan (Galwegians/Connacht) 0
2 – John Fogarty (Buccaneers/Connacht) 0
3 – Bryan Young (Ballymena/Ulster) 0
4 – Mick O’Driscoll (Captain) (Cork Constitution/Munster) 3
5 – Matt McCullough (Ballymena/Ulster) 4
6 – Neil Best (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster) 2
7 – Shane Jennings (Leicester) 0
8 – Jamie Heaslip (Clontarf/Leinster) 0

Replacements:

16 – Brian Blaney (Terenure College/Leinster) 0
17 – Ronan McCormack (UCD/Leinster) 0
18 – Leo Cullen (Leicester) 18
19 – Roger Wilson (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster) 1
20 – Chris Keane (Buccaneers/Connacht) 0
21 – Paddy Wallace (Ballymena/Ulster) 0
22 – Gavin Duffy (Harlequins) 4

*Caps tallies are for the Ireland senior team