Ireland Squad Named For Bank Of Ireland Nations Series

An additional panel of players has been named for the Ireland ‘A’ fixture against the All Blacks XV, which takes place at the RDS on Friday, November 4.

Ireland will play the Springboks for the first time in six years when Jacques Nienaber’s World Cup-winning side return to the Aviva Stadium on Saturday, November 5 (kick-off 5.30pm).

Fiji are also back in Dublin for the first time since 2017, facing Andy Farrell’s men on Saturday, November 12 (kick-off 1pm).

Ireland’s final game of the Bank of Ireland Nations Series is against Australia on Saturday, November 19 (kick-off 8pm). The men in green last faced the Wallabies in the summer of 2018 where they secured a famous series victory on Australian soil.

Ireland will again be captained by Jonathan Sexton for the November clashes, and there are six uncapped players in the squad – Ciaran Frawley, Jeremy Loughman, Joe McCarthy, Calvin Nash, Jimmy O’Brien and Cian Prendergast.

Frawley, Loughman, McCarthy, O’Brien and Prendergast featured for the Ireland XV that played the Māori All Blacks during this year’s summer tour of New Zealand.

Prendergast, McCarthy, Robert Baloucoune and Calvin Nash were also part of the Emerging Ireland squad that played against the Griquas, Pumas and Cheetahs in Bloemfontein earlier this month.

The Ireland ‘A’ panel includes Tom Ahern, Diarmuid Barron, Jack Crowley, Shane Daly, Max Deegan, Jamie Osborne, Scott Penny and Roman Salanoa from the Emerging Ireland squad, as well as experienced front rowers Dave Kilcoyne and Martin Moore.

Players in the Ireland ‘A’ panel will join the squad following round 7 of the BKT United Rugby Championship.

Ireland ‘A’ take on a strong All Blacks XV on Friday, November 4 at the RDS (kick-off 7.45pm). Tickets are on general sale via Ticketmaster.ie from this Saturday (October 22) at 10am.

The All Blacks XV squad features experienced Test players such as Damian McKenzie, TJ Perenara and Patrick Tuipulotu.

There are limited tickets available for the Ireland v Fiji Test match at the Aviva Stadium here.

IRELAND SQUAD – BANK OF IRELAND NATIONS SERIES 2022:

Player/Club/Province/Caps –

Backs (16):

Robert Baloucoune (Enniskillen/Ulster) 2
Joey Carbery (Clontarf/Munster) 35
Craig Casey (Shannon/Munster) 5
Ciaran Frawley (Skerries/Leinster) *
Jamison Gibson-Park (Leinster) 20
Mack Hansen (Connacht) 6
Robbie Henshaw (Buccaneers/Leinster) 60
Hugo Keenan (UCD/Leinster) 23
Michael Lowry (Banbridge/Ulster) 1
Conor Murray (Garryowen/Munster) 99
Stuart McCloskey (Bangor/Ulster) 6
Calvin Nash (Young Munster/Munster) *
Jimmy O’Brien (Naas/Leinster) *
Garry Ringrose (UCD/Leinster) 44
Jonathan Sexton (St. Mary’s College/Leinster) (capt) 108
Jacob Stockdale (Lurgan/Ulster) 35

Forwards (21):

Ryan Baird (Dublin University/Leinster) 8
Finlay Bealham (Buccaneers/Connacht) 25
Tadhg Beirne (Lansdowne/Munster) 33
Jack Conan (Old Belvedere/Leinster) 30
Gavin Coombes (Young Munster/Munster) 2
Caelan Doris (St. Mary’s College/Leinster) 20
Tadhg Furlong (Clontarf/Leinster) 60
Dave Heffernan (Buccaneers/Connacht) 7
Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster) 118
Rob Herring (Ballynahinch/Ulster) 28
Jeremy Loughman (Garryowen/Munster) *
Joe McCarthy (Dublin University/Leinster) *
Peter O’Mahony (Cork Constitution/Munster) 87
Tom O’Toole (Ballynahinch/Ulster) 3
Andrew Porter (UCD/Leinster) 46
Cian Prendergast (Connacht) *
James Ryan (UCD/Leinster) 46
Dan Sheehan (Lansdowne/Leinster) 10
Nick Timoney (Banbridge/Ulster) 2
Kieran Treadwell (Ballymena/Ulster) 8
Josh van der Flier (UCD/Leinster) 43

* Denotes uncapped player

IRELAND ‘A’ PANEL:

Tom Ahern (Shannon/Munster)
Diarmuid Barron (Garryowen/Munster)
Caolin Blade (Galwegians/Connacht) 1
Jack Crowley (Cork Constitution/Munster)
Shane Daly (Cork Constitution/Munster) 2
Max Deegan (Lansdowne/Leinster) 1
James Hume (Banbridge/Ulster) 3
Dave Kilcoyne (UL Bohemians/Munster) 48
Martin Moore (Ulster) 10
Jamie Osborne (Naas/Leinster)
Scott Penny (UCD/Leinster)
Roman Salanoa (Shannon/Munster)

The IRFU have secured Bank of Ireland as the title sponsor for Ireland’s Nations Series fixtures against South Africa, Fiji and Australia, and the pre-World Cup fixtures in August 2023 at the Aviva Stadium against Italy (August 5) and England (August 19).

Bank of Ireland are a long-time supporter of Irish Rugby and have sponsor partnerships with all four provinces, supporting both the professional and domestic game.

IRFU Chief Executive Kevin Potts commented: “Bank of Ireland have built a strong connection to Irish Rugby through their investment in our game over the past 20 years.

“Their provincial sponsorships are hugely beneficial not just to the professional game, but to the continued development of provincial club competitions and female representative teams.

“The arrival of World champions South Africa to the Aviva Stadium is a great fixture to cement this new partnership.”

Speaking about the new sponsorship, Gavin Kelly, Interim CEO, Bank of Ireland, said: “Bank of Ireland is a proud supporter of rugby in Ireland through our sponsorship of Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster Rugby.

“Today, we are delighted to further strengthen our involvement as title sponsor of the Bank of Ireland Nations Series. This new partnership with the IRFU underlines our long-term commitment to Irish Rugby which is founded on the success of the provincial game and the extraordinary commitment of the players.

“We share the excitement of rugby fans across Ireland as we look forward to a really exciting set of matches in November against some of the world’s best teams – South Africa, Fiji, and Australia.”

Bank of Ireland Nations Series and Ireland ‘A’ Fixtures –

IRELAND ‘A’ v All Blacks XV
Friday, November 4, the RDS, kick-off 7.45pm

IRELAND v South Africa
Saturday, November 5, Aviva Stadium, kick-off 5.30pm

IRELAND v Fiji
Saturday, November 12, Aviva Stadium, kick-off 1pm

IRELAND v Australia
Saturday, November 19, Aviva Stadium, kick-off 8pm