Limerick Rugby
Don't Miss

Decent Munster representation on Ireland Six Nations squad

THERE is a reasonable number of Munster players names in the squad of 38 players for the opening two rounds of the 2019 Guinness Six Nations Championship. Both of Ireland’s home games at the Aviva Stadium are sold out.
Included are Tadhg Berne, Dave Kilcoyne, Peter O’Mahony, Niall Scannell, John Ryan, CJ Stander, Conor Murray, Joey Carbery, Andrew Conway, Keith Earls and Chris Farrell.
Joe Schmidt, Ireland head coach commented, “It’s been great to watch the provincial teams doing so well in recent weeks. With another very competitive round of EPCR this weekend, the following Ireland squad for the first two matches of the Six Nations has been selected, knowing that late changes may be required, depending on how the matches go in the weekend. There have been a number of tight calls across almost every position.”
IRELAND squad 2019 Guinness Six Nations Championship Rounds 1 & 2
Forwards (21)
Rory Best (Ulster/Banbridge) 113 caps (c)
Tadhg Beirne (Munster/Lansdowne) 4 caps
Jack Conan (Leinster/Old Belvedere) 11 caps
Sean Cronin (Leinster/St Mary’s College) 65 caps
Ultan Dillane (Connacht/Corinthians) 11 caps
Tadhg Furlong (Leinster/Clontarf) 28 caps
Cian Healy (Leinster/Clontarf) 84 caps
Iain Henderson (Ulster/Queens University) 42 caps
Dave Kilcoyne (Munster/UL Bohemians) 24 caps
Jack McGrath (Leinster/St Marys College) 53 caps
Jordi Murphy (Ulster/Lansdowne) 26 caps
Sean O’Brien (Leinster/UCD) 52 caps
Peter O’Mahony (Munster/Cork Constitution) 52 caps (vc)
Andrew Porter (Leinster/UCD) 11 caps
Rhys Ruddock (Leinster/St Mary’s College) 21 caps
James Ryan (Leinster/UCD) 13 caps
John Ryan (Munster/Cork Constitution) 16 caps
Niall Scannell (Munster/Dolphin) 11 caps
CJ Stander (Munster/Shannon) 28 caps
Devin Toner (Leinster/Lansdowne) 63 caps
Josh van der Flier (Leinster/UCD) 13 caps
Backs (17)
Will Addison (Ulster/Enniskillen) 3 caps
Bundee Aki (Connacht/Galwegians) 12 caps
Caolin Blade (Connacht/Galwegians) 0 caps
Joey Carbery (Munster/Clontarf) 16 caps
Jack Carty (Connacht/Buccaneers) 0 caps
Andrew Conway (Munster/Garryowen) 10 caps
John Cooney (Ulster/Terenure College) 4 caps
Keith Earls (Munster/Young Munster) 72 caps
Chris Farrell (Munster/Young Munster) 3 caps
Tom Farrell (Connacht/TBC) 0 caps
Robbie Henshaw (Leinster/Buccaneers) 36 caps
Rob Kearney (Leinster/UCD) 87 caps
Jordan Larmour (Leinster/St Mary’s College) 9 caps
Conor Murray (Munster/Garryowen) 67 caps
Garry Ringrose (Leinster/UCD) 17 caps
Jonathan Sexton (Leinster/St Marys College) 78 caps (vc)
Jacob Stockdale (Ulster/Ballynahinch) 14 caps
Conor Murray is back but Luke McGrath’s knee injury against Toulouse is likely to rule him out of the Six Nations. Kieran Marmion is not too far away from returning but John Cooney will hopefully be back this weekend for Ulster. It’s a great opportunity for Caolin Blade to get into camp and compete for a spot.
“Johnny Sexton is making good progress, while Joey Carbery and Jack Carty have both performed consistently well so far this season,” said Schmidt. “Ross Byrne is unlucky in an incredibly tight call. He is still definitely in our thinking and will continue to press for inclusion through the Six Nations and beyond, while Billy Burns has also fitted in really well for Ulster this season.
“Bundee Aki and a fresh and fully fit Robbie Henshaw squeeze out Rory Scannell, who was great for Munster last Friday, and Stu McCloskey, who continues to give Ulster gain line as well as defensive solidity. At outside centre Tom Farrell has forced his way into contention and Chris Farrell is working his way back to match fitness, improving week by week. We’re sure that Sam Arnold and Rory O’Loughlin will continue to improve and both have plenty of promise.”
Ireland host England on the opening weekend of the 2019 Guinness Six Nations before heading to Murrayfield to face Scotland.
In Round 3 Ireland face Italy in Rome on Sunday 24th February before hosting France on Sunday 10th March at the Aviva Stadium. Ireland’s final fixture of the 2019 Guinness Six Nations will take place in Cardiff on Saturday 16th March.
The Ireland squad will travel to Portugal on Monday 21st January for a four day camp before returning to Ireland on Friday 25th January.
Supporters can get all the news from the Ireland camp via the IRFU’s website and social media channels. Follow us on.
Online: www.irishrugby.ie
Youtube: IrishRugbyTV
Twitter: @IrishRugby
Instagram: Irish Rugby
Facebook: @IrishRugby
IRELAND 2019 Guinness Six Nations Championship Fixtures
IRELAND v England
Saturday 2nd February, 2019
Aviva Stadium, KO 16.45
Scotland v IRELAND
Saturday 9th February, 2019
Aviva Stadium, KO 14.15
Italy v IRELAND
Sunday 24th February, 2019
Stadio Olimpico, KO 15.00
IRELAND v France
Sunday 10th March, 2019
Aviva Stadium, KO 15.00
Wales v IRELAND
Saturday 16th March, 2019
Principality Stadium, KO 14.45

You must be logged in to post a comment Login