A 44-strong Ireland training squad has been announced for the upcoming Rugby World Cup pre-season and preparatory camps which commence in mid-June. The squad includes two uncapped players, Munster duo Mike Haley and Jean Kleyn.
Over the course of the pre-season period the squad will hold camps in Galway and Limerick as well as their usual base in Maynooth. Open sessions are planned for both the Sportsground in Galway and Thomond Park in Limerick. Details of the open sessions will be announced in due course.
Ireland will play at the Aviva Stadium in two GUINNESS Summer Series fixtures against Italy (Saturday, August 10) and Wales (Saturday, September 7). Tickets for these two games are available on ticketmaster.ie.
Ireland's preparations for the Rugby World Cup in Japan will also include clashes with England at Twickenham (August 24) and Wales at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff (August 31).
Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt commented:
The provinces have done a great job throughout the season with all four of them being involved in two sets of play-offs. There were some very close calls in selection and it's always a challenging process because the coaching group are very conscious of how hard the players work."It's ideal that they get a good opportunity to relax for a few weeks before getting stuck into pre-season training and the busy GUINNESS Series in the lead up to the World Cup. Some players have missed out through injury and there are one or two guys that may be added into the squad at a later stage."