MUNSTER’S OUT-GOING PLAYMAKER JJ Hanrahan will get a chance to impress with an Irish jersey before he dons the green of Northampton next season.
The Kerryman is one of 27 players selected for an Emerging Ireland side who will take part in next month’s Tbilisi Cup in Georgia.
Hanrahan will be joined by fellow Munster men Stephen Archer and James Cronin. The front rows are two of the party’s five players with senior international experience alongside Rhys Ruddock, Noel Reid and Ulster hooker Rob Herring.
The coaching ticket of Allen Clarke and Girvan Dempsey will have plenty of form players from around the provinces to choose from for the fixtures against Emerging Italy, Uruguay and Georgia — with the latter two sides gearing up to September’s World Cup.
Ulster’s Stuart McCloskey will deliver an alternative to Reid at inside centre,while Connacht’s Denis Buckley is included after earning a place on the Pro12 Team of the Season.
Excluding the soon-to-be Saint, Hanrahan, there is one player included from overseas: former Connacht centre Eoin Griffin who played with London Irish this season.
Ireland squad for Tbilisi Cup which kicks off on 13 June:
Stephen Archer (Cork Constitution/Munster)
Finlay Bealham (Corinthians/Connacht)
Denis Buckley (Corinthians/Connacht)
Andrew Conway (Garryowen/Munster)
John Cooney (Terenure/Connacht)
James Cronin (Dolphin/Munster)
Eoin Griffin (London Irish)
JJ Hanrahan (UL Bohemians/Munster)
Matt Healy (Lansdowne/Connacht)
Dave Heffernan (Buccaneers/Connacht)
Rob Herring (Ballynahinch/Ulster)
Billy Holland (Cork Constitution/Munster)
Cian Kelleher (Lansdowne/Leinster)
Dan Leavy (UCD/Leinster)
Ben Marshall (Old Belvedere/Leinster)
Eoghan Masterson (Corinthians/Connacht)
Stuart McCloskey (Ballynahinch/Ulster)
Luke McGrath (UCD/Leinster)
Eoin McKeon (Corinthians/Connacht)
Peter Nelson (Malone/Ulster)
Tiernan O’Halloran (Buccaneers/Connacht)
Noel Reid (Clontarf/Leinster)
Rhys Ruddock (St Mary’s College/Leinster)
Rory Scannell (Dolphin/Munster)
Lewis Stevenson (Malone/Ulster)
Frank Taggart (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster)
Andy Warwick (Ballymena/Ulster)
McCloskey, Hanrahan and McGrath. Particularly pleased to see those three names in the line-up.
Depth of Irish squad is something to behold. Really interesting group of players – possibly even a few bolters for the RWC squad in there? Reid, Ruddock, McCloskey perhaps? Surprised to see Duncan Casey not selected though – he’s been in very good form of late. Similarly Collie O’Shea or Garry Ringrose, just to see how they’d fare?
Gary Ringrose will be playing at the under 20 World Cup. Ronan O Mahoney deserved a place on this squad, along with Duncan casey. Don’t see the point in bringing billy holland, who has had a really good season but he’s in his 30s using he?
So, I guess it’s something like:
1s: Cronin, Buckley, Warwick
2s: Herring, Heffernan
3s: Archer, Bealham
locks: Holland, Marshall, Stevenson
back-row: Ruddock, Masterson, McKeon, Leavy, Taggart
9s: Cooney, McGrath
10s: Hanrahan, Scannell
centres: McCloskey, Reid, Griffin
back three: Healy, Conway, O’Halloran, Nelson, Kelleher
I wonder why John Ryan, Duncan Casey, Tadhg Furlong, Jack O’Donoghue, Jack Conan and Ronan O’Mahony weren’t selected
Can only assume the Furlong and Casey are in the running to be part of the main training squad. O’Mahony and Conan exclusion seems daft considering how far they have come on this season and while I know O Donoghue is only well started everything he does screams future international….
No Duncan Casey?
Archer and Holland???? Holland is too old and Archer can’t scrummage.
If there was a better player than Holland available then he wouldn’t be going.
Could have picked a much stronger squad imo. From a Munster perspective, I would much rather see JOD, Casey and ROM in there than Holland and Archer. Conan should be there too as well as Furlong. Still, it’s good to see talent like McCloskey, McGrath and JJ being recognised.
Delighted to see lots of young talents being given the chance to improve and put their hands up for the future.Griffen has being doing well at Irish and playing abroad should not be punished. As a Connacht fan after Ireland I am so pleased Matt Healy is being given a chance, he has a great kick and chase game and seems to be able to get through the eye off the needle a lot. And Denis Buckely is just unbelievable, solid at scrummage and so tenacious at turn over ball, remember the game in Thomond with was it 7 turn overs ? Quinlan couldn’t stop talking him. Best of luck too all involved maybe even a few RWC wild cards in there!!
Great to see Kelleher getting recognition for a great season