Eight Uncapped Players In Ireland Summer Tour Squad
The Ireland coaching team have named a 31-man squad for the three-Test summer tour of the USA and Japan in June. The squad includes eight uncapped players.
Ireland’s first game of the summer tour takes place against the US Eagles at Red Bull Arena in New Jersey on Saturday, June 10.
The squad then flies to Japan for two Tests against the Rugby World Cup 2019 hosts who have been drawn in Pool A alongside Ireland at that tournament. The first Test takes place at the Ecopa Stadium in Shizuoka on Saturday, June 17, with the final outing of the tour being held at the Ajinomoto Stadium in Tokyo on Saturday, June 24.
The selected squad contains eight uncapped players – John Cooney, Dave Heffernan, Rory O’Loughlin, Andrew Porter, James Ryan, Rory Scannell, Jacob Stockdale and Kieran Treadwell.
Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt commented: “With eleven players due to tour with the British & Irish Lions, plus a number of injuries to experienced internationals, the summer tour squad includes plenty of youth.
“There is a real freshness to the group, including the coaching staff, so we’re looking forward to what will be a very challenging summer tour.
“We have retained a sprinkling of experienced players, some of whom may yet be called up to the Lions, but the focus is really on challenging the younger players to cope with the heat and foreign conditions as well as the speed and physicality of Test rugby.”
An additional player will be added to the squad following next weekend’s provincial fixtures.
The tour will also see three young Irish coaches spend time with the national team. Racing 92’s Ronan O’Gara will accompany the team for the New Jersey leg of the tour, with Leinster’s Girvan Dempsey with the group for the first week in Japan and Munster’s Felix Jones working with the side for the final week of the tour in Tokyo.
IRELAND SUMMER TOUR Squad (USA & Japan):
Backs (14) –
Joey Carbery (Clontarf/Leinster) 3 caps
Andrew Conway (Garryowen/Munster) 1 cap
John Cooney (Connacht) *
Keith Earls (Young Munster/Munster) 59 caps
Paddy Jackson (Dungannon/Ulster) 23 caps
Kieran Marmion (Corinthians/Connacht) 13 caps
Luke Marshall (Ballymena/Ulster) 9 caps
Luke McGrath (UCD/Leinster) 1 cap
Tiernan O’Halloran (Buccaneers/Connacht) 3 caps
Rory O’Loughlin (Old Belvedere/Leinster) *
Garry Ringrose (UCD/Leinster) 8 caps
Rory Scannell (Dolphin/Munster) *
Jacob Stockdale (Ballynahinch/Ulster) *
Simon Zebo (Cork Constitution/Munster) 33 caps
Forwards (17) –
Finlay Bealham (Buccaneers/Connacht) 6 caps
Jack Conan (Old Belvedere/Leinster) 1 cap
Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster) 67 caps
Dave Heffernan (Buccaneers/Connacht) *
Dave Kilcoyne (UL Bohemians/Munster) 17 caps
Dan Leavy (UCD/Leinster) 2 caps
Tommy O’Donnell (UL Bohemians/Munster) 12 caps
Jack O’Donoghue (UL Bohemians/Munster) 1 cap
Andrew Porter (UCD/Leinster) *
Rhys Ruddock (St. Mary’s College/Leinster) 13 caps
James Ryan (UCD/Leinster) *
John Ryan (Cork Constitution/Munster) 6 caps
Niall Scannell (Dolphin/Munster) 4 caps
Devin Toner (Lansdowne/Leinster) 47 caps
James Tracy (UCD/Leinster) 2 caps
Kieran Treadwell (Ballymena/Ulster) *
Josh van der Flier (UCD/Leinster) 7 caps
* Denotes uncapped player at international level
IRELAND SUMMER TOUR Fixtures:
USA v IRELAND – BUY TICKETS
Saturday, June 10, kick-off 5pm local time/10pm Irish time
Red Bull Arena, New Jersey
Japan v IRELAND – BUY TICKETS
Saturday, June 17, kick-off 2pm local time/6am Irish time
Ecopa Stadium, Shizuoka
Japan v IRELAND – BUY TICKETS
Saturday, June 24, kick-off 2.40pm local time/6.40am Irish time
Ajinomoto Stadium, Tokyo