O'Connell names 11 uncapped players for Ireland tour to Georgia and Portugal

Irish Daily Mirror

2 days ago

Paul O'Connell has revealed a 32-strong squad for the forthcoming tour to Georgia and Portugal packed with 11 new caps in the 32-strong panel to be captained by Craig Casey.
These include Shayne Bolton, Nathan Doak, Hugh Gavin, Ben Murphy and Tommy O'Brien in the backs. And forwards Stephen Smyth, Michael Milne, Paddy McCarthy, Darragh Murray, Tom Ahern and Alex Kendellan.
Smyth, a 20 year-old hooker, has made just four appearances for Leinster this season, all of them from the bench and totalling just 65 minutes of competitive action.
Their common denominator is that O'Brien, Gavin, Bolton, Doak, Murray and Kendellan started Ireland's A game against England at Bristol in late February while Smyth (who came on in the sixth minute) and McCarthy were on the bench.
Elsewhere there will be satisfaction in Ulster that Stuart McCloskey and Jacob Stockdale made the cut while Munster fans will be happy to see both their cause celebres, Tom Ahern and Gavin Coombes, in the fold.
Leinster, who have 11 players down for Lions duty and for whom Caelan Doris and Robbie Henshaw are injured, provide a further dozen to this squad although only Sam Prendergast, Jimmy and Tommy O'Brien and Jamie Osborne could be considered 'front-liners'.
Osborne travels as the most 'complete' back in the history of Irish rugby - nobody has ever started at full-back, left and right wing, inside and outside centre for a province in one season before.
This was part possible when following playing on the right-wing for Ireland against France in the Six Nations, he started the Champions Cup Last 16 game against Glasgow in the same position, the first time he had won that shirt for the club.
However it took until last Saturday to complete the full-hand when selected at no13 against Scarlets, playing outside Jordie Barrett in the absence of Garry Ringrose and Robbie Henshaw through injury.
Not that Osborne was seen simply as a 'fill-in' as the option was there to use Barrett as the outside centre but not exercised, possibly because management likes to keep the All Black on Sam Prendergast's shoulder, near his ear.
'Jamie came on for Garry in the game against Zebre, so he played there. He has had repetitions in there, it is something he has been exposed to since the Zebre game so he naturally continued on there.'
'He did really well," said Jacques Nienaber. "So last year he played mostly no12 for us and he did really well last weekend.
"I had seen him in training there before and maybe if there was a little bit of injuries there during other games he would move there towards the end.
"But this is the first time I saw him playing there and I just monitored him defensively, Tyler (Bleyendaal, Attack Coach) will have opinions on his attack, but defensively I thought he did really well.'
Farrell and Osborne had been smiling earlier in the day too when they were named in the URC 2024/25 Elite XV alongside clubmates Craig Casey, Tadhg Beirne and RG Snyman.
Meanwhile there is set to be a fantastic battle to see who will prosper at no6 in Portugal and Georgia, to lay a claim to the retiring Peter O'Mahony's spot, between Cormac Izuchukwu and Ryan Baird.
The Ulster player was handed the no6 in the Autumn Series game with Fiji but it was his Leinster rival who started the opening Six Nations game against England and who remained on the bench for the next four games.
Baird has been growing into the Leinster season and is expected to start against Glasgow in the URC semi-final at the Aviva.
"I just kept my head down, kept pounding the rock, as Stu Lancaster would have preached to us many years ago," says Baird.
'Are they actually downs in the grand scheme of things? If you ask me, how has my year been compared to last year in which I would have played a lot more games, Ryan Baird has had as good of a year as a person than he has had last year.
'As a rugby player, I've grown, I've learned loads. I'm not a pessimist, I'm an optimist but there's a realism in there as well. But for sure I just try to see the positives in things.
'I would be a believer that not so much everything happens for a reason but you have a choice when something happens how you react and if you react in a positive way, you're more likely to get a positive reaction and then you just bounce off that. Overall, another great year, but we are not done yet.'
Meanwhile of those left out, Munster's Tom Farrell must feel most hard done by following truly remarkable season where he stood out week in, week out for th Reds, starting all 26 of their games and gaining one of the four nominations for Rugby Players Ireland's Player of the Year.
He was also the winner of the URC's Playmaker of the Year, a new category for 2024/25, selected by awarding three points for try assists, two points for offloads and one for defenders beaten.
Notwithstanding Farrell's crossing for nine URC tries (a hat-trick at Ulster), there were five assists, 41 offloads and 61 defenders left behind finishing with nearly 50 per cent more points than nearest rivals Warrick Gelant (Stormers) and Quan Horn (Lions).
'I'm delighted to announce the Ireland squad for the Summer Tour," says O'Connell, "and I believe we have a strong blend of youth and experience for what will be a trip into relatively uncharted territories this July.
'Georgia have made great strides in recent years, and they have made significant investment in their rugby programme which has established them amongst the leading emerging sides in international rugby.
"Under the experience of Richard Cockerill they have built on a traditionally strong forward unit with a talented backline and they will provide a tough test for us.
"Portugal showcased their attacking prowess during the Rugby World Cup 2023 and Simon Mannix is a Coach I know having worked with him previously (at Munster). They play with confidence and we're expecting another tough test.
'With 15 players away with The British & Irish Lions, this tour presents an opportunity for those on the fringes to impress the coaching team.
"A number of players have been really close to selection in recent times and it's important that everyone grasps the challenge that's ahead of them.
"Every moment on the training field and across the two-match Series will count and there's a great opportunity for players to step up and impress.
'In welcoming the squad, I would like to congratulate Craig (Casey) on his selection as captain. He is a real leader with a strong personality and it is a huge personal honour for him and an opportunity that I know he will relish over the coming weeks.'
Ireland Men's Squad - Summer Tour 2025: Player/Club/Province/Caps
Forwards (18):
Tom Ahern (Shannon/Munster)*
Ryan Baird (Dublin University/Leinster)(27)
Finlay Bealham (Corinthians/Connacht)(51)
Jack Boyle (UCD/Leinster)(2)
Thomas Clarkson (Dublin University/Leinster)(6)
Gavin Coombes (Young Munster/Munster)(2)
Max Deegan (Lansdowne/Leinster)(2)
Cormac Izuchukwu (Ballynahinch/Ulster)(1)
Alex Kendellen (UCC/Munster)*
Gus McCarthy (UCD/Leinster)(4)
Paddy McCarthy (Dublin University/Leinster)*
Michael Milne (UCD/Munster)*
Darragh Murray (Buccaneers /Connacht)*
Tom O'Toole (Ballynahinch/Ulster)(16)
Cian Prendergast (UCD/Connacht)(4)
Stephen Smyth (Old Wesley/Leinster)*
Tom Stewart (Ballynahinch/Ulster)(2)
Nick Timoney (Banbridge/Ulster)(3)
Backs (14):
Shayne Bolton (Connacht)*
Craig Casey (Shannon/Munster)(captain)(18)
Jack Crowley (Cork Constitution/Munster)(24)
Nathan Doak (Banbridge/Ulster)*
Ciaran Frawley (UCD/Leinster)(8)
Hugh Gavin (Galwegians/Connacht)*
Stuart McCloskey (Bangor/Ulster)(19)
Ben Murphy (Clontarf/Connacht)*
Calvin Nash (Young Munster/Munster)(10)
Jimmy O'Brien (Naas/Leinster)(8)
Tommy O'Brien (UCD/Leinster)*
Jamie Osborne (Naas/Leinster)(7)
Sam Prendergast (Lansdowne/Leinster)(8)
Jacob Stockdale (Lurgan/Ulster)(38)
Training Panellists: James McNabney (City of Armagh/Ulster)*, Jude Postlethwaite (City of Armagh/Ulster)*, Zac Ward (Ballynahinch/Ulster)*
Ireland Summer Tour
Saturday, 5th July: Georgia v Ireland, Mikheil Meskhi Stadium, Tbilisi (kick off 9pm local time, 6pm Irish time)
Saturday, 12th July: Portugal v Ireland, Estádio Nacional do Jamor, Lisbon (kick off 7pm local, same Irish time)