RUGBY: Four Connacht Players in Ireland Autumn Squad

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RUGBY: Four Connacht Players in Ireland Autumn Squad

Four Connacht players have been named in the Ireland squad for the Autumn internationals.

Mack Hansen, Finlay Bealham, Dave Heffernan and the uncapped Cian Prendergast are in the squad to face South Africa, Fiji and Australia.

Caolin Blade is included in the ‘A’ squad to face New Zealand. There’s no place for Jack Carty, Gavin Thornbury or the suspended Bundee Aki.

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The Ireland coaching team have named a 37-man squad for the upcoming Bank of Ireland Nations Series fixtures against world champions South Africa, Fiji and Australia at Aviva Stadium.

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

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

Fiji also return to Dublin for the first time since 2017 on Saturday 12th November (Kick-off 1pm), while Ireland’s final game of the Series is against Australia on Saturday 19th November (Kick-off 8pm). Ireland last faced the Wallabies in the summer of 2018 where they secured a famous series victory.

The Ireland squad will be captained by Johnny Sexton 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 against the Maori All Blacks during the 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-row forwards Dave Kilcoyne and Marty Moore. Players in the A Panel will join the squad following Round 7 of the URC.

Ireland ‘A’ take on a strong All Black XV squad on the 4th November in the RDS (Kick-off 7.45pm – tickets on General Sale via Ticketmaster.ie from Saturday 22nd October at 10am). The All Black XV squad features experienced Test players such as Damian McKenzie, TJ Perenara and Patrick Tuipulotu.

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

Ireland Squad – Bank of Ireland Nations Series 2022

Backs (16)

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

Forwards (21)

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

Ireland ‘A’ Panel

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

Bank of Ireland – Title Sponsor of Nations Series

The IRFU have secured Bank of Ireland as the title sponsor for Ireland’s Nations Series fixtures against South Africa, Fiji and Australia in November 2022 and the pre-World Cup fixtures in August 2023 at the Aviva Stadium against Italy (August 5th) and England (August 19th). 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.

Kevin Potts, IRFU CEO, 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 the World Champions South Africa to the Aviva Stadium is a great fixture to cement this new partnership.”

Speaking on 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.”