6 Nations
Ireland name Six Nations Squad
The Ireland coaching group have selected a squad of 36 players for the upcoming 2021 Guinness Six Nations Championship.
Jonathan Sexton will captain the squad for a second Six Nations campaign and there are two uncapped players included – Munster scrum half Craig Casey and Ulster prop Tom O’Toole.
O’Toole was named in the Ireland panel at the start of the 2020 Championship, while Casey, who won a Grand Slam with the Ireland Under-20s in 2019, trained with the squad last October.
Ireland have just two fixtures at the Aviva Stadium in the 2021 Six Nations, hosting France in the second round and England during the final weekend of the tournament.
In the opening round Ireland will take on Wayne Pivac’s Wales at the Principality Stadium. Their first two games of the 2021 Championships against Wales and France will both take place on Sunday afternoons.
Ireland’s third round match is at the Stadio Olimpico against Italy, and in the penultimate round they will face Scotland.
Ireland head coach Andy Farrell commented: “Since the autumn international window, the club season has had a good few disruptions and the cancellation of the European fixtures means there have been less opportunities for players to show form or to return from injury and get some minutes under their belts.
“Tadhg (Furlong) hasn’t played in quite a while but he is ready to join the group. Unfortunately Jacob (Stockdale) will not be available to us.”
All Ireland games will be televised on Virgin Media in the Republic of Ireland, and on ITV (v France, Italy & England) and BBC (v Wales & Scotland) in Northern Ireland.
Ireland Squad – 2021 Guinness Six Nations Championship:
Player/Club/Province/Caps –
Backs (17):
Bundee Aki (Galwegians/Connacht) 30
Billy Burns (Ulster) 3
Ross Byrne (UCD/Leinster) 11
Craig Casey (Shannon/Munster) *
Andrew Conway (Garryowen/Munster) 24
Shane Daly (Cork Constitution/Munster) 1
Keith Earls (Young Munster/Munster) 88
Chris Farrell (Young Munster/Munster) 14
Jamison Gibson-Park (Leinster) 5
Robbie Henshaw (Buccaneers/Leinster) 47
Hugo Keenan (UCD/Leinster) 6
Jordan Larmour (St. Mary’s College/Leinster) 24
James Lowe (Leinster) 2
Stuart McCloskey (Bangor/Ulster) 4
Conor Murray (Garryowen/Munster) 87
Garry Ringrose (UCD/Leinster) 30
Jonathan Sexton (St. Mary’s College/Leinster) (capt) 95
Forwards (19):
Tadhg Beirne (Lansdowne/Munster) 17
Will Connors (UCD/Leinster) 5
Caelan Doris (St. Mary’s College/Leinster) 7
Ultan Dillane (Galway Corinthians/Connacht) 17
Tadhg Furlong (Clontarf/Leinster) 25
Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster) 104
Dave Heffernan (Buccaneers/Connacht) 5
Iain Henderson (Academy/Ulster) 58
Rob Herring (Ballynahinch/Ulster) 16
Ronan Kelleher (Lansdowne/Leinster) 6
Dave Kilcoyne (UL Bohemians/Munster) 39
Peter O’Mahony (Cork Constitution/Munster) 73
Tom O’Toole (Banbridge/Ulster) *
Andrew Porter (UCD/Leinster) 32
Quinn Roux (Galwegians/Connacht) 16
Rhys Ruddock (St. Mary’s College/Leinster) 26
James Ryan (UCD/Leinster) 32
CJ Stander (Shannon/Munster) 46
Josh van der Flier (UCD/Leinster) 28
* Denotes uncapped player
Ireland 2021 Guinness Six Nations Fixtures:
Wales v IRELAND
Principality Stadium, Cardiff
Sunday 7th February, KO 15.00
VIRGIN / BBC
IRELAND v France
Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Sunday 14th February, KO 15.00
VIRGIN / ITV
Italy v IRELAND
Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Saturday 27th February, KO 14.15
VIRGIN / ITV
Scotland v IRELAND
BT Murrayfield, Edinburgh
Sunday 14th March, KO 15.00
VIRGIN / BBC
IRELAND v England
Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Saturday 20th March, KO 16.45
VIRGIN / ITV
Munster Rugby and the IRFU are pleased to confirm contract extensions for Conor Murray and Jack Daly with Brian Gleeson to be promoted from the Academy to the senior squad next season.
Murray and Daly have signed one-year extensions with Gleeson moving up to the senior squad on a two-year deal.
Gleeson is one of five Academy players moving up to the senior squad next year with Tony Butler, Ethan Coughlan, Mark Donnelly and Edwin Edogbo also signing two-year deals.
Conor Murray is one of the most decorated scrum-halfs in world rugby with 116 Ireland caps and three British & Irish Lions tours to his name.
A former St Munchin’s College student, the Garryowen man won his fifth 6 Nations title with Ireland last month and earned his second league title with Munster last season.
The 34-year-old has made 185 Munster appearances and scored 34 tries for the province to date and was named on World Rugby’s Team of the Decade in 2019.
25-year-old flanker Jack Daly came up through the ranks at Castleisland RFC and made his Munster debut against Zebre in 2020.
Daly joined the Academy in 2018, moved up to the senior squad in 2021 and plays his AIL rugby with Garryowen. A former Ireland U20 international, he made his Champions Cup debut against Toulouse in the quarter-final at the Aviva Stadium in 2022.
Try-scoring number 8 Brian Gleeson leads the charge for the Ireland Under-20s against France ©INPHO/Evan Treacy
20-year-old Gleeson moves up to the senior squad after just one year in the Academy that has seen him score one try in nine senior appearances.
Currently out of action with an ankle injury, he had already made three Champions Cup appearances before turning 20.
The powerful back-row forward was a Grand Slam winner with the Ireland U20s last year. plays his AIL rugby with Garryowen and came up through the ranks at Thurles RFC and Rockwell College.
Images & Content from Irish Rugby & Images © Inpho Photography
Head Coach Andy Farrell has named his Ireland Match Day Squad for Saturday’s Guinness Men’s Six Nations clash against Scotland at Aviva Stadium (Kick-off 4.45pm).
Ireland – currently sitting top of the Six Nations table heading into Super Saturday – can clinch back-to-back Championship titles with victory over Scotland in Dublin.
Farrell has named an unchanged starting XV for the Round 5 clash, as Hugo Keenan, Calvin Nash and James Lowe continue in the Ireland back three. Robbie Henshaw and Bundee Aki are once again selected in midfield, with Jack Crowley and Jamison Gibson-Park the starting half-backs.
Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan and Tadhg Furlong pack down in the front row, with Joe McCarthy partnering Tadhg Beirne – who is set to win his 50th Test cap for Ireland – in the engine room.
Captain Peter O’Mahony is at blindside flanker, Josh van der Flier is at openside and Caelan Doris completes the starting XV at number eight.
The Ireland Coaching Team have opted for a 5-3 split on the bench, with Rónan Kelleher, Cian Healy, Finlay Bealham, Ryan Baird and Jack Conan providing the reinforcements up front, and Conor Murray, Harry Byrne and the fit-again Garry Ringrose the backline options.
Saturday’s match is live on Virgin Media One and ITV, with live radio coverage available on RTE Radio 1.
Ireland Team & Replacements (v Scotland, Guinness Men’s Six Nations, Saturday, March 16, 4.45pm)
15. Hugo Keenan (UCD/Leinster)(39)
14. Calvin Nash (Young Munster/Munster)(5)
13. Robbie Henshaw (Buccaneers/Leinster)(71)
12. Bundee Aki (Galwegians/Connacht)(55)
11. James Lowe (Leinster)(30)
10. Jack Crowley (Cork Constitution/Munster)(13)
9. Jamison Gibson-Park (Leinster)(34)
1. Andrew Porter (UCD/Leinster)(63)
2. Dan Sheehan (Lansdowne/Leinster)(25)
3. Tadhg Furlong (Clontarf/Leinster)(75)
4. Joe McCarthy (Dublin University/Leinster)(9)
5. Tadhg Beirne (Lansdowne/Munster)(49)
6. Peter O’Mahony (Cork Constitution/Munster)(captain)(104)
7. Josh van der Flier (UCD/Leinster)(61)
8. Caelan Doris (St Mary’s College/Leinster)(40)
Replacements:
16. Rónan Kelleher (Lansdowne/Leinster)(30)
17. Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster)(128)
18. Finlay Bealham (Buccaneers/Connacht)(39)
19. Ryan Baird (Dublin University/Leinster)(19)
20. Jack Conan (Old Belvedere/Leinster)(45)
21. Conor Murray (Garryowen/Munster)(115)
22. Harry Byrne (UCD/Leinster)(3)
23. Garry Ringrose (UCD/Leinster)(57).
Images & Content from Irish Rugby & Images © Inpho Photography
Head Coach Andy Farrell has named his Ireland Match Day Squad for Saturday’s Guinness Men’s Six Nations clash against England at Twickenham (Kick-off 4.45pm).
Peter O’Mahony captains Ireland for the Round 4 visit to London, with Hugo Keenan returning to the starting XV after recovering from injury.
Keenan joins Calvin Nash and James Lowe in the Ireland back three, with Bundee Aki and Robbie Henshaw continuing their midfield partnership.
Jack Crowley and Jamison Gibson-Park are retained as the half-back pairing.
In the pack, Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan and Tadhg Furlong are in the front row, with Joe McCarthy and Tadhg Beirne named in the engine room. Captain O’Mahony is at blindside flanker, Josh van der Flier is at openside and Caelan Doris completes the starting XV at number eight.
The Ireland Coaching Team have selected a 6-2 split on the bench, as Ronan Kelleher, Cian Healy, Finlay Bealham, Iain Henderson, Ryan Baird and Jack Conan provide the reinforcements in the pack.
Backs Conor Murray and Ciaran Frawley complete Ireland’s Match Day 23 to face England.
Saturday’s match is live on RTÉ2 and ITV.
Ireland:
15. Hugo Keenan (UCD/Leinster)(38)
14. Calvin Nash (Young Munster/Munster)(4)
13. Robbie Henshaw (Buccaneers/Leinster)(70)
12. Bundee Aki (Galwegians/Connacht)(54)
11. James Lowe (Leinster)(29)
10. Jack Crowley (Cork Constitution/Munster)(12)
9. Jamison Gibson-Park (Leinster)(33)
1. Andrew Porter (UCD/Leinster)(62)
2. Dan Sheehan (Lansdowne/Leinster)(24)
3. Tadhg Furlong (Clontarf/Leinster)(74)
4. Joe McCarthy (Dublin University/Leinster)(8)
5. Tadhg Beirne (Lansdowne/Munster)(48)
6. Peter O’Mahony (Cork Constitution/Munster)(captain)(103)
7. Josh van der Flier (UCD/Leinster)(60)
8. Caelan Doris (St Mary’s College/Leinster)(39)
Replacements:
16. Ronan Kelleher (Lansdowne/Leinster)(29)
17. Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster)(127)
18. Finlay Bealham (Buccaneers/Connacht)(38)
19. Iain Henderson (Academy/Ulster)(80)
20. Ryan Baird (Dublin University/Leinster)(18)
21. Jack Conan (Old Belvedere/Leinster)(44)
22. Conor Murray (Garryowen/Munster)(114)
23. Ciaran Frawley (UCD/Leinster)(3)
Images & Content from Irish Rugby & Images © Inpho Photography
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