Ireland name 35-man squad for the Six Nations

New Ireland boss Andy Farrell has named a 35-man squad for the 2020 Guinness Six Nations that will be captained by Johnny Sexton.

It includes five uncapped players – Ulster’s Billy Burns and Tom O’Toole and the Leinster trio Max Deegan, Caelan Doris and Ronan Kelleher.

Eleven of the 31 players originally chosen by the now departed Joe Schmidt for the recent World Cup in Japan are not involved. They included retired skipper Rory Best, Sean Cronin, Niall Scannell, John Ryan, Tadhg Beirne, Jean Kleyn, Jack Conan and Rhys Ruddock, along with mid-tournament call-up Jordi Murphy. Joey Carbery, Jack Carty and Rob Kearney are the backline changes.

The coaching group have also named four development players – Ryan Baird, Robert Baloucoune, Harry Byrne and Will Connors – who will train with the squad at its warm-weather camp in Portugal and in the lead-up to the opening game against Scotland on February 1. 

Farrell said: “At the get together in December we challenged the players to put their hands up for selection and the coaches are really pleased with the performances in recent weeks. As we progress through the Championship we will look to select sides that we believe are best suited to the task at the weekend.

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“We will keep a close eye on the provincial performances in the PRO14, not just for the players in the squad that will transition back for game minutes but also for those players that were part of the wider selection discussions over the past few weeks.

“We have appointed Johnny as captain for the Six Nations. You can see what it means to him and the enthusiasm he will bring to the role. He has been developing as a leader for a number of years with Ireland, Leinster and the Lions and he will be a positive voice for the group.

'His unchallenged message is that his squad is dynamic, powerful and aggressive with a lot of skill and speed, a nice soundbite if rah-rah soundbites are your thing twelve-and-a-half weeks on from World Cup crucifixion by the All Blacks,' writes @heagneyl
https://t.co/Uay1ksl7gW

— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) January 16, 2020

“The provinces are doing a great job in developing young talent and we feel there is an opportunity in the national set-up to support that work and get a better insight into some young players that have put in strong performances for their provinces. Ryan, Will, Harry and Robert will be the first ones to join the squad in this development role.”

IRELAND’S 2020 Six Nations Squad

Forwards (19)

Max Deegan (Lansdowne/Leinster) 0 caps

Caelan Doris (UCD/Leinster) 0 caps

Ultan Dillane (Corinthians/Connacht) 14 caps

Tadhg Furlong (Clontarf/Leinster) 41 caps

Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster) 95 caps

Dave Heffernan (Buccaneers/Connacht) 1 cap

Iain Henderson (Academy/Ulster) 53 caps

Rob Herring (Ballynahinch/Ulster) 8 caps

Ronan Kelleher (Lansdowne/Leinster) 0 caps

Dave Kilcoyne (UL Bohemians/Munster) 36 caps

Jack McGrath (St Mary’s College/Ulster) 56 caps

Jack O’Donoghue (UL Bohemians/Munster) 2 caps

Peter O’Mahony (Cork Constitution/Munster) 64 caps

Tom O’Toole (Banbridge/Ulster) 0 caps

Andrew Porter (UCD/Leinster) 23 caps

James Ryan (UCD/Leinster) 23 caps

CJ Stander (Shannon/Munster) 38 caps

Devin Toner (Lansdowne/Leinster) 67 caps

Josh van der Flier (UCD/Leinster) 23 caps

Backs (16)

Will Addison (Enniskillen/Ulster) 4 caps

Bundee Aki (Galwegians/Connacht) 23 caps

Billy Burns (Ulster) 0 caps

Ross Byrne (UCD/Leinster) 3 caps

Andrew Conway (Garryowen/Munster) 18 caps

John Cooney (Terenure College/Ulster) 8 caps

Keith Earls (Young Munster/Munster) 82 caps

Chris Farrell (Young Munster/Munster) 9 caps

Robbie Henshaw (Buccaneers/Leinster) 40 caps

Dave Kearney (Lansdowne/Leinster) 19 caps

Jordan Larmour (St Mary’s College/Leinster) 21 caps

Luke McGrath (UCD/Leinster) 19 caps

Conor Murray (Garryowen/Munster) 78 caps

Garry Ringrose (UCD/Leinster) 28 caps

Jonathan Sexton (St Marys College/Leinster) 88 caps CAPTAIN

Jacob Stockdale (Lurgan/Ulster) 25 caps

Development Players

Ryan Baird (Dublin University/Leinster)

Robert Baloucoune (Enniskillen/Ulster)

Harry Byrne (Lansdowne/Leinster)

Will Connors (UCD/Leinster)

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