Some serious young talent involved
Ireland ‘A’ will take on England ‘A’ next Sunday at Bristol’s Ashton Gate (kick-off, 1pm).
Head coach Mike Prendergast has named a 29-man squad, with just six capped players – Oli Jager, Harry Byrne, Tom O’Toole, Max Deegan, Fineen Wycherley, and Shane Daly.
Deegan captains the side.
Interestingly, out-half Harry Byrne makes the cut, despite being on load in the Premiership with Bristol Bears.
Ireland squad regular Tom O’Toole is also back after seeing out his six-match suspension, while 27-year-old Fineen Wycherley is back in the fold.
Some of the most talented players from Ireland’s hugely successful U20s teams from the past two seasons having brought in, with the likes Brian Gleeson, Evan O’Connell, Ben O’Connor, Hugh Gavin, and Paddy McCarthy.
The squad breaks down as follows: 11 Leinster, 8 Munster, 7 Connacht, 3 Ulster.
Ireland ‘A’ squad taken from Irish Rugby’s home site:
Forwards (16):
Jack Aungier (Clontarf FC/Connacht)
Diarmuid Barron (Garryowen/Munster)
James Culhane (UCD RFC/Leinster)
Max Deegan (Lansdowne/Leinster)(captain)(2)
Brian Gleeson (Garryowen FC/Munster)
Oli Jager (Munster)(1)
Sean Jansen (Connacht)
Alex Kendellen (UCC RFC/Munster)
Paddy McCarthy (Dublin University FC/Leinster)
Darragh Murray (Buccaneers RFC/Connacht)
Evan O’Connell (UL Bohemian RFC/Munster)
Conor O’Tighearnaigh (UCD RFC/Leinster)
Tom O’Toole (Ballynahinch/Ulster)(16)
Stephen Smyth (Old Wesley RFC/Leinster)
Alex Soroka (Clontarf FC/Leinster)
Fineen Wycherley (Young Munster/Munster)(1)
Backs (13):
Shayne Bolton (Connacht)
Harry Byrne (UCD/Leinster)(4)
Hugh Cooney (Clontarf/Leinster)
Shane Daly (Cork Constitution/Munster)(2)
Cathal Forde (Corinthians/Connacht)
Hugh Gavin (Galwegians RFC/Connacht)
Fintan Gunne (Terenure College RFC/Leinster)
Ben Murphy (Clontarf/Connacht)
Ben O’Connor (UCC RFC/Munster)
Tommy O’Brien (UCD RFC/Leinster)
Andrew Osborne (Naas RFC/Leinster)
Jude Postlethwaite (City of Armagh RFC/Ulster)
Zac Ward (Ballynahinch RFC/Ulster)
Ireland ‘A’ Management:
Mike Prendergast (Head Coach/Attack Coach)
Jimmy Duffy (Forwards)
Sean O’Brien (Defence)
Mark Sexton (Backs/Assistant Attack Coach)
Colm Tucker (Scrum/Breakdown).
Prendergast said: “I am hugely excited to work with such a talented group of players and coaches and we’re all looking forward to the opportunity to represent our country in Bristol this weekend. The squad will assemble on Monday and we’ll need to hit the ground running to ensure that everyone is up to speed.
It is an experienced group with a number of capped senior internationals named alongside players who have featured for Emerging Ireland and for their provinces in recent months. The standard, whenever you pull on an Ireland jersey, is to perform to the best of your ability and we believe that we have a good blend of talented players who will look to take this opportunity to impress the national and provincial coaches.
“Sunday’s game presents a huge opportunity against what will be a well-drilled England side who boast a lot of Premiership experience in their ranks. It is a task that we will approach with a positive frame of mind.”
