Ireland name 44-man training squad for World Cup

The Ireland coaching team have named a 44 strong training squad for the upcoming Rugby World Cup pre-season and preparatory camps which commence in mid-June.

Over the course of the pre-season period the squad will hold camps in Galway and Limerick as well as their usual base in Maynooth.

Joe Schmidt has called up two uncapped players – Munster duo Jean Kleyn and Mike Haley.

Haley moved from Sale Sharks last summer and the former England Saxons player gets a late chance to stake his claim for a World Cup spot. He qualifies for Ireland through his grandmother, who hails from Tralee.

South African-born Kleyn completed his three-year residency this year, which allows him to follow in the footsteps of Bundee Aki and CJ Stander, who are two recent Irish internationals who have qualified to play for the country via residency. That three-year rule was extended to five years by World Rugby in May 2017 – it comes into effect in 2021. Kleyn, a former Stormers second row has been an impressive performer since he joined the Irish province in 2016.

Kleyn’s inclusion appears to have come at the expense of Quinn Roux, with the Connacht player failing to make he cut having featured during this season’s Six Nations.

Ireland play four warm-up games ahead of the World Cup, starting with Italy on August 10th at the Aviva Stadium followed a trip to Twickenham to play England on August 24th and then a double-header against Wales, first at the Principality on August 31st followed by a match at the Aviva on Septempber 7th.

Ireland’s World Cup opener is against Scotland on September 22nd in Yokohama.

Ireland Head Coach Joe Schmidt, commented, “The provinces have done a great job throughout the season with all four of them being involved in two sets of playoffs.

There were some very close calls in selection and it’s always a challenging process because the coaching group are very conscious of how hard the players work. It’s ideal that they get a good opportunity to relax for a few weeks before getting stuck into pre-season training and busy ‘Summer Series’ in the lead up to the World Cup.

Some players have missed out through injury and there are one or two guys that may be added into the squad at a later stage.”

Two of those out with injury are backrow duo Dan Leavy and Sean O’Brien. Meanwhile Will Addison was not among those listed by the IRFU as not considered for the squad due to injury.

Other players who’ve missed out include Leinster hooker James Treacy, Munster prop Stephen Archer and his backrow clubmate Jack O’Donoghue. Ulster centre Stuart McCloskey is also omitted.

IRELAND Training Squad

Forwards (24)
Finlay Bealham (Buccaneers/Connacht) 9 caps
Rory Best (Banbridge/Ulster) 117 caps
Tadhg Beirne (Lansdowne/Munster) 5 caps
Jack Conan (Old Belvedere/Leinster) 14 caps
Sean Cronin (St Mary’s College/Leinster) 68 caps
Ultan Dillane (Corinthians/Connacht) 14 caps
Tadhg Furlong (Clontarf/Leinster) 33 caps
Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster) 88 caps
Iain Henderson (Queens University/Ulster) 44 caps
Rob Herring (Ballynahinch/Ulster) 7 caps
Dave Kilcoyne (UL Bohemians/Munster) 29 caps
Jean Kleyn (Munster)*
Jack McGrath (St Marys College/Leinster) 54 caps
Jordi Murphy (Lansdowne/Ulster) 27 caps
Tommy O’Donnell (UL Bohemians/Munster) 12 caps
Peter O’Mahony (Cork Constitution/Munster) 57 caps
Andrew Porter (UCD/Leinster) 14 caps
Rhys Ruddock (Lansdowne/Leinster) 21 caps
James Ryan (UCD/Leinster) 17 caps
John Ryan (Cork Constitution/Munster) 18 caps
Niall Scannell (Dolphin/Munster) 14 caps
CJ Stander (Shannon/Munster) 31 caps
Devin Toner (Lansdowne/Leinster) 64 caps
Josh van der Flier (UCD/Leinster) 17 caps

Backs (20)
Bundee Aki (Galwegians/Connacht) 17 caps
Ross Byrne (UCD/Leinster) 2 caps
Joey Carbery (Clontarf/Munster) 18 caps
Jack Carty (Buccaneers/Connacht) 3 caps
Andrew Conway (Garryowen/Munster) 12 caps
John Cooney (Terenure College/Ulster) 8 caps
Keith Earls (Young Munster/Munster) 77 caps
Chris Farrell (Young Munster/Munster) 5 caps
Mike Haley (Munster)*
Robbie Henshaw (Buccaneers/Leinster) 37 caps
Dave Kearney (Lansdowne/Leinster) 17 caps
Rob Kearney (UCD/Leinster) 90 caps
Jordan Larmour (St Mary’s College/Leinster) 13 caps
Kieran Marmion (Galwegians/Connacht) 25 caps
Luke McGrath (UCD/Leinster) 10 caps
Conor Murray (Garryowen/Munster) 72 caps
Garry Ringrose (UCD/Leinster) 20 caps
Rory Scannell (Dolphin/Munster) 3 caps
Jonathan Sexton (St Marys College/Leinster) 83 caps
Jacob Stockdale (Lurgan/Ulster) 19 caps