Ireland's uncapped 13
Tom Ahern has been recognised by O'Connell after an impressive season with Munster, during which he made 19 appearances including five off the bench in the Champions Cup.
The 25-year-old lock made his Munster debut in 2020, has earned 65 caps and was part of the 2022-23 United Rugby Championship title-winning squad. In 2023-24, he scored eight tries in 23 outings.
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Ahern, from County Waterford, featured for the Ireland under-20s during the 2019 World Rugby Under-20 Championship and was part of the 2022 Emerging Ireland tour of South Africa.
At under-20 level, he also helped Ireland win the Triple Crown during the Covid-hit 2020 Six Nations.
While his progress has been hindered by injuries, he has long been on the radar of Ireland's senior coaching staff. Invited to train with the squad during the 2021 autumn Tests and the past couple of Six Nations campaigns, Ahern hopes to finally earn his first senior international cap.
Capable of playing in the second and back rows, the 6ft 9in forward could learn a great deal under O'Connell, another totemic second row to have emerged from Munster.
He was nursing a hamstring injury but was passed fit on Tuesday.
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