45 Players Named In Ireland Training Squad
The Ireland management team have named a 45-man training squad which will commence Rugby World Cup preparations at the end of June and play in four Test matches across August and September. Paul O’Connell has been named captain of the squad.
Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt commented: “The squad selection has been a long process with some very tight decisions. Some injured players who are getting close to full fitness have been included, while others have missed out due to prolonged absence or lack of opportunity to demonstrate their full Test match readiness.
“Rhys Ruddock would have been selected but has been ruled him out after fracturing his arm against Uruguay in the Tbilisi Cup last week.”
Ireland’s schedule of Rugby World Cup warm-up matches will see them play Wales in Cardiff on Saturday, August 8 before hosting Scotland in the GUINNESS Summer Series a week later at the Aviva Stadium.
On Saturday, August 29, Wales come to the Aviva Stadium with the final warm-up game taking place at Twickenham against England on Saturday, September 5. Tickets for the two GUINNESS Summer Series home clashes with Scotland and Wales are available from www.ticketmaster.ie.
The Ireland squad will host three Open Training Sessions during their World Cup training period – the first will take place at the Sportsground, Galway on Tuesday, July 14, the second will be held in Cork on Wednesday, July 29 and the final open session is scheduled for the RDS, Dublin on Tuesday, September 8. Details on how to access tickets for the open sessions will be published shortly.
IRELAND 2015 Rugby World Cup Training Squad:
Backs (22) –
Isaac Boss (Terenure College/Leinster)
Tommy Bowe (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster)
Darren Cave (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster)
Gordon D’Arcy (Lansdowne/Leinster)
Keith Earls (Young Munster/Munster)
Luke Fitzgerald (Blackrock College/Leinster)
Craig Gilroy (Dungannon/Ulster)
Robbie Henshaw (Buccaneers/Connacht)
Paddy Jackson (Dungannon/Ulster)
Felix Jones (Shannon/Munster)
Dave Kearney (Lansdowne/Leinster)
Rob Kearney (UCD/Leinster)
Ian Madigan (Blackrock College/Leinster)
Kieran Marmion (Corinthians/Connacht)
Fergus McFadden (Old Belvedere/Leinster)
Conor Murray (Garryowen/Munster)
Jared Payne (Ulster)
Eoin Reddan (Lansdowne/Leinster)
Noel Reid (Clontarf/Leinster)
Jonathan Sexton (Racing 92)
Andrew Trimble (Ballymena/Ulster)
Simon Zebo (Cork Constitution/Munster)
Forwards (23) –
Rory Best (Banbridge/Ulster)
Michael Bent (Dublin University/Leinster)
Jack Conan (Old Belvedere/Leinster) *
Sean Cronin (St. Mary’s College/Leinster)
Tadhg Furlong (Clontarf/Leinster) *
Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster)
Jamie Heaslip (Dublin University/Leinster)
Iain Henderson (Ballynahinch/Ulster)
Chris Henry (Malone/Ulster)
Rob Herring (Ballynahinch/Ulster)
David Kilcoyne (UL Bohemians/Munster)
Jack McGrath (St. Mary’s College/Leinster)
Martin Moore (Lansdowne/Leinster)
Jordi Murphy (Lansdowne/Leinster)
Sean O’Brien (UCD/Leinster)
Paul O’Connell (Young Munster/Munster) (capt)
Tommy O’Donnell (UL Bohemians/Munster)
Peter O’Mahony (Cork Constitution/Munster)
Mike Ross (Clontarf/Leinster)
Donnacha Ryan (Shannon/Munster)
Richardt Strauss (Old Wesley/Leinster)
Devin Toner (Lansdowne/Leinster)
Dan Tuohy (Ballymena/Ulster)
* Denotes uncapped player
IRELAND’S RWC WARM-UP TEST MATCHES –
Wales v IRELAND
Millennium Stadium
Saturday, August 8
Kick-off 2.30pm
IRELAND v Scotland – GUINNESS Summer Series – Buy Tickets Here
Aviva Stadium
Saturday, August 15
Kick-off 5pm
IRELAND v Wales – GUINNESS Summer Series – Buy Tickets Here
Aviva Stadium
Saturday, August 29
Kick-off 2.30pm
England v IRELAND
Twickenham Stadium
Saturday, September 5
Kick-off 2.30pm