The Ireland squad trained at Thomond Park on Wednesday prior to the announcement of the team to play the Barbarians on Friday night. Head coach Declan Kidney named four uncapped players for the game and confirmed that he hopes to release two of his squad to play for the New Zealand Barbarians while Ireland are on tour.
Fergus McFadden, Chris Henry, Ed O’Donoghue and Dan Tuohy are the four uncapped players named in the Ireland XV for the MasterCard Challenge game against the Barbarians at Thomond Park on Friday.
Ireland coach Declan Kidney explained his team selection, saying: “We picked who was in the best shape to play and who needed the game too.
“There is a lot of mixing and matching. It’s also to try and find things out and test the strength in depth of the squad.”
He also confirmed that he hopes to release two players from the squad during the tour to play for the New Zealand Barbarians in their fixture against the New Zealand Maori side in Whangarei on Saturday, June 12.
“If lads can play they enjoy tours more. It all depends on fitness. We have Friday night to go through, travel, Monday and Tuesday, training, and if we get through all that, we’d be delighted to help out,” explained the Corkman.
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