New faces in Ireland squad
The Ireland rugby squad to tour Japan this summer contains nine uncapped players in the travelling party of 26.
With 11 Irish players on tour with the Lions in New Zealand, including Irish coach Eddie O’Sullivan and captain Brian O’Driscoll, Niall O’Donovan takes over as coach, with the squad being captained by David Humphreys.
Among the uncapped players, there are several new faces to the Irish squad.
These include Munster second row Trevor Hogan, Leinster’s Kieran Lewis and Conor McPhilips from Connacht as well as Roger Wilson, Matt McCullough, Kieran Campbell, Paddy Wallace (all Ulster), David Quinlan (Leinster) and Bernard Jackman (Connacht), who have all been involved with Irish squads in the past.
The coaching staff also sees two additions for the tour, with Connacht coach Michael Bradley and Ulster coach Mark McCall assisting O’Donovan in Japan.
Commenting on the selection, O’Donovan said: “With such a high representation on the British & Irish Lions, the squad for Japan gives us a chance to look at players in certain areas. These include the back row and second row, where there is a glut of talent coming through, allowing us to look at options as cover for players such as Anthony Foley and also at scrum half.
"With two tough full international games against Japan, the key to the squad was getting the balance right and given that there are also six players with less then ten caps, the need for experience in key areas of the pack and in the backs was essential.”
The Ireland squad will depart on June 4 from their camp in Limerick and will play the first of their two tests in the 55,000 capacity Nagai Stadium, Osaka on Sunday, June 12 (Kick off 2pm local time). The second test will take place in Tokyo the following Sunday, June 19 (kick off 2pm local time) in the 28,000 capacity Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground.
IRELAND SQUAD - Forwards – Simon Best (Ulster), Reggie Corrigan (Leinster), Leo Cullen (Leinster), Simon Easterby (Llanelli), Trevor Hogan (Munster), Marcus Horan (Munster), Bernard Jackman (Connacht), Denis Leamy (Munster), Matt McCullough (Ulster), Eric Miller (Leinster), Johnny O’Connor (Wasps), Frankie Sheahan (Munster), David Wallace (Munster), Roger Wilson (Ulster).
Backs – Tommy Bowe (Ulster), Kieran Campbell (Ulster), Girvan Dempsey (Leinster), Gavin Duffy (Harlequins), Anthony Horgan (Munster), David Humphreys (Ulster), Kieran Lewis (Leinster), Kevin Maggs (Ulster), Conor McPhillips (Connacht), David Quinlan (Leinster), Peter Stringer (Munster), Paddy Wallace (Ulster).
Standby (9): Gary Brown, James Downey, Ben Gissing, Shane Jennings, Chris Keane, Ronnie McCormack, Alan Quinlan, Paul Shields, Jeremy Staunton.
