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Ireland name four uncapped players in 42-strong World Cup squad
By Liam Heagney
Ireland boss Andy Farrell has named a 42-strong Rugby World Cup training squad that includes four uncapped players – Tom Stewart, Ciaran Frawley, Jamie Osborne, Calvin Nash. A total of 22 forwards and 20 backs will assemble on June 18 in Dublin for the first block of training.
That will lead into three warm-up matches in August versus Italy, England and Samoa before their RWC 2023 campaign starts with a September 9 clash with Romania in Bordeaux. Joey Carbery was the highest profile omission, Farrell instead including current Munster No10 Jack Crowley as one of three out-halves along with skipper Johnny Sexton and Ross Byrne.
A statement read: “Ireland head coach Andy Farrell has named a 42-player summer training squad to begin preparations for the Bank of Ireland Nations Series and Rugby World Cup 2023. Following the conclusion of the BKT United Rugby Championship and Heineken Champions Cup campaigns, the Ireland coaching team have selected an extended panel of players to assemble at the IRFU high performance centre on June 18 for the first block of pre-season.
“Farrell has included four uncapped players, with Ulster hooker Tom Stewart called up having been part of the extended Ireland squad during the Guinness Six Nations campaign, while Leinster backs Ciaran Frawley and Jamie Osborne and Munster winger Calvin Nash are rewarded for their performances for their provinces this season.
“The Ireland squad will train at their Dublin base through June and July ahead of the series which will see Farrell's side fine-tune their preparations for Rugby World Cup 2023 with home matches against Italy (Saturday, August 5 – kick-off 8pm) and England (Saturday, August 19 – kick-off 5.30pm) at Aviva Stadium and a fixture against Samoa at Stade Jean-Dauger in Bayonne (Saturday, August 26 – kick-off 9pm local time/8pm Irish time).
“In addition to the three Bank of Ireland Nations Series matches, the Ireland squad will travel to Portugal for a warm-weather training camp in August, before Farrell's final 33-player Rugby World Cup squad is announced in late August.”
Farrell said: "It’s exciting to announce our extended training squad for the first phase of Rugby World Cup preparations, and we are looking forward to assembling in Dublin next month to hit the ground running as a group. It’s pleasing to see that selection has been as tough as ever, as real quality players have initially been unfortunate to have missed out.
“I’m sure that camp will be competitive enough as we grow minds and bodies and look to push on with our game from last season. In the meantime, it’s important that we freshen up for a busy and exciting summer ahead, so we're ready to get to work on 18th June and build towards the Bank of Ireland Nations Series and to France beyond that."
Ireland Rugby World Cup training squad:
Forwards (22):
Ryan Baird (Leinster/Dublin University)
Finlay Bealham (Connacht/Buccaneers)
Tadhg Beirne (Munster/Lansdowne)
Jack Conan (Leinster/Old Belvedere)
Gavin Coombes (Munster/Young Munster)
Caelan Doris (Leinster/St Mary’s College)
Tadhg Furlong (Leinster/Clontarf)
Cian Healy (Leinster/Clontarf)
Iain Henderson (Ulster/Academy)
Rob Herring (Ulster/Ballynahinch)
Ronan Kelleher (Leinster/Lansdowne)
Dave Kilcoyne (Munster/UL Bohemians)
Joe McCarthy (Leinster/Dublin University)
Peter O'Mahony (Munster/Cork Constitution)
Tom O'Toole (Ulster/Ballynahinch)
Andrew Porter (Leinster/UCD)
Cian Prendergast (Connacht/Corinthians)
James Ryan (Leinster/UCD)
Dan Sheehan (Leinster/Lansdowne)
Tom Stewart (Ulster/Ballynahinch)*
Kieran Treadwell (Ulster/Ballymena)
Josh van der Flier (Leinster/UCD)
Backs (20)
Bundee Aki (Connacht/Galwegians)
Caolin Blade (Connacht/Galwegians)
Ross Byrne (Leinster/UCD)
Craig Casey (Munster/Shannon)
Jack Crowley (Munster/Cork Constitution)
Keith Earls (Munster/Young Munster)
Ciaran Frawley (Leinster/UCD)*
Jamison Gibson-Park (Leinster)
Mack Hansen (Connacht/Corinthians)
Robbie Henshaw (Leinster/Buccaneers)
Hugo Keenan (Leinster/UCD)
James Lowe (Leinster)
Stuart McCloskey (Ulster/Bangor)
Conor Murray (Munster/Garryowen)
Calvin Nash (Munster/Young Munster)*
Jimmy O'Brien (Leinster/Naas)
Jamie Osborne (Leinster/Naas)*
Garry Ringrose (Leinster/UCD)
Jonathan Sexton (Leinster/St Mary’s College)
Jacob Stockdale (Ulster/Lurgan)
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