Ireland Wolfhounds Squad Announced

Posted on Jan 22, 2013 in Irish Wolfhounds

Connacht players Robbie Henshaw and David McSharry are two of the possible debutants for the O2 Ireland Wolfhounds when they take on the England Saxons in Galway this Friday Evening (K.O. 7.45pm) after being named in a match squad of 23 players.

Both Henshaw and McSharry have had strong seasons for their province and were called into the overall training squad last week by the Ireland management.

There are a further seven players in the Wolfhounds squad who are uncapped at full international level, but the group can also boast a return to a green jersey for Leinster outside back Luke Fitzgerald after an absence of over a year.

Andrew Trimble, Tom Court and Isaac Boss will also bring a vital level of international experience to the team.

Some of the newer faces called up the Ireland squad have an opportunity to impress this Friday in Galway before the squad to prepare for the opening game against Wales is announced, with Iain Henderson, David Kilcoyne and Michael Bent all included.

The starting team and replacements will be confirmed at Thursday lunchtime. Tickets for the game are available on Ticketmaster.ie

O2 Ireland Wolfhounds Squad (club/province/international caps):

Michael Bent (Dublin University/Leinster/2)
Isaac Boss (Terenure College/Leinster/15)
Darren Cave (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster/3)
James Coughlan (Dolphin/Munster)*
Tom Court (Malone/Ulster/29)
Luke Fitzgerald (Blackrock College/Leinster/23)
Declan Fitzpatrick (Dungannon /Ulster/2)
Iain Henderson (Ballynahinch/Ulster/2)
Robbie Henshaw (Buccaneers/Connacht)*
Paddy Jackson (Dungannon/Ulster)*
Ian Keatley (Young Munster/Munster/2)
David Kilcoyne (UL Bohemians/Munster/2)
Ian Madigan (Blackrock College/Leinster)*
Paul Marshall (Ballymena/Ulster)*
Kevin McLaughlin (St.Mary’s College/Leinster/5)
Dave McSharry (UCD/Connacht/)*
Tommy O’Donnell (UL Bohemians/Munster)*
Rhys Ruddock (St. Mary’s College/Leinster/1)
Mike Sherry (Garryowen/Munster)*
Lewis Stevenson (Malone/Ulster)*
Devin Toner (Lansdowne/Leinster/3)
Andrew Trimble (Ballymena/Ulster/49)
Damien Varley (Garryowen/Munster/2)

N.B. *denotes uncapped player

Ireland team for the third NZ test

Posted on Jun 21, 2012 in Latest Rugby News

The Ireland team to play New Zealand in the third test of the summer tour has been named and shows three changes, two in the backs and one in the forward pack, from the side that took the field in the second test in Christchurch.

Paddy Wallace, who was called out as a replacement for the tour after Gordon D’Arcy returned home injured, goes straight into the side at inside centre in place of D’Arcy.

Keith Earls has recovered from his chest injury he picked up in the first test and is selected on the left wing in place of Andrew Trimble, who moves to the replacements.

Peter O’Mahony, who came off the bench during the second test, is selected to start at No.8 as Jamie Heaslip is ruled out due to a broken finger.  Back row Chris Henry comes into the replacements to fill the spot left after O’Mahony’s promotion to the starting fifteen.

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Ireland Team Named For Second Test In New Zealand

Posted on Jun 14, 2012 in Ireland

The Ireland team to play New Zealand in the second test of the summer tour has been named and shows four changes from the starting XV that took the field in the first test.

Gordon D’Arcy starts at inside centre in place of Keith Earls, who was not considered for selection due to a chest injury that he picked up in the first test.  D’Arcy’s selection reunites him with Brian O’Driscoll to start their 48th international as Ireland’s centre partnership.

Elsewhere in the backline, Andrew Trimble comes onto the left wing in place of Simon Zebo, who is named in the replacements in place of Darren Cave.

Kevin McLaughlin, who came on in the second half of the first test, is named in the back row, with Peter O’Mahony swapping places to move into the replacements.  Mike Ross comes back into the team in place of Declan Fitzpatrick at tight head, with Fitzpatrick moving to the replacements instead of Ronan Loughney.

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Ireland Team To Play New Zealand

Posted on Jun 7, 2012 in Ireland

The Ireland team to play New Zealand in the first test of the summer tour has been named and includes two new caps with wing Simon Zebo and prop Declan Fitzpatrick making their first starts in the green jersey at this level.

Zebo, who is the youngest member of the touring squad at 22, starts on the left wing in a team that has an average age of just over 26 and includes a new centre partnership between Keith Earls and returning captain Brian O’Driscoll, who missed all of the RBS 6 Nations Championship due to injury.

Fergus McFadden starts on the right wing in a back three that includes Zebo and Rob Kearney at full back. Jonathan Sexton starts at No.10 and is partnered by Conor Murray.

In the forwards, Declan Fitzpatrick starts at tight head prop after Mike Ross failed to recover sufficiently from the hamstring strain that has been bothering him over the last two weeks.  Fitzpatrick will start alongside loose head Cian Healy and hooker Rory Best, who will be winning his 60th cap.

Dan Touhy make his first start for Ireland in the second row after making his debut against the All Blacks as a replacement in 2010 and will partner Donnacha Ryan. Behind them, Peter O’Mahony, Sean O’Brien and Jamie Heaslip are all named to start in the back row.

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