Ireland Squad Named For Barbarians Game
The Ireland coaching team have named their squad for Thursday’s showdown with the Barbarians at Thomond Park. Jamie Heaslip will captain the side with seven uncapped players in the squad.
The Barbarians have assembled a stellar squad that includes the likes of Brad Thorn (New Zealand), Joe Rokocoko (New Zealand), David Smith (Toulon), George Smith (Australia) and Ruan Pienaar (South Africa).
The Ireland squad is a mixture of Leinster and Ulster players, with the Connacht players rested following their extra-time loss to Gloucester on Sunday.
There are three uncapped players in the forwards – Tadhg Furlong, Ben Marshall and Jack Conan. The backs include the uncapped Luke McGrath, Colm O’Shea, Cian Kelleher and Stuart McCloskey.
The match kicks-off at 7.45pm on Thursday with tickets available online from Ticketmaster.ie and at usual outlets at Thomond Park.
IRELAND XV Squad (v Barbarians, Thomond Park, Limerick, Thursday, May 28, kick-off 7.45pm):
Backs (12) –
Craig Gilroy (Dungannon/Ulster)
Paddy Jackson (Dungannon/Ulster)
Dave Kearney (Lansdowne/Leinster)
Rob Kearney (UCD/Leinster)
Cian Kelleher (Lansdowne/Leinster) *
Stuart McCloskey (Ballynahinch/Ulster) *
Luke McGrath (UCD/Leinster) *
Ian Madigan (Blackrock College/Leinster)
Luke Marshall (Ballymena/Ulster)
Colm O’Shea (Clontarf/Leinster) *
Eoin Reddan (Lansdowne/Leinster)
Noel Reid (Clontarf/Leinster)
Forwards (15) –
Michael Bent (Dublin University/Leinster)
Jack Conan (Old Belvedere/Leinster) *
Robbie Diack (Malone/Ulster)
Tadhg Furlong (Clontarf/Leinster) *
Jamie Heaslip (Dublin University/Leinster) (capt)
Chris Henry (Malone/Ulster)
Rob Herring (Ballynahinch/Ulster)
Jack McGrath (St. Mary’s College/Leinster)
Ben Marshall (Old Belvedere/Leinster) *
Jordi Murphy (Lansdowne/Leinster)
Mike Ross (Clontarf/Leinster)
Rhys Ruddock (St. Mary’s College/Leinster)
Richardt Strauss (Old Wesley/Leinster)
Devin Toner (Lansdowne/Leinster)
Dan Tuohy (Ballymena/Ulster)
* Denotes uncapped player at international level