IRELAND HEAD COACH Andy Farrell has announced Caelan Doris as his new captain and named two uncapped players in his 35-man squad for the upcoming November Tests.
26-year-old Doris will take over from Peter O’Mahony as Ireland skipper ahead of the games against New Zealand, Argentina, Fiji, and Australia in Dublin next month.
Doris took on the captaincy for Ireland’s second Test win over South Africa last summer when O’Mahony was dropped to the bench.
The Munster man is currently injured but O’Mahony has been included in the autumn squad as he continues to recover from a hamstring issue, with the experienced blindside flanker to rehabilitate with Munster ahead of his return to action next month.
Ireland have included experienced hookers Rónan Kelleher and Rob Herring in their autumn squad despite both currently being sidelined with injuries. It remains unclear exactly when they will recover but they will feature at some stage in November, with Connacht’s Dave Heffernan the other hooker selected in the injury-enforced absence of Dan Sheehan.
Farrell’s squad includes Ulster lock/flanker Cormac Izuchukwu and Leinster out-half Sam Prendergast, both of whom will hope to win their first senior Test caps for Ireland.
24-year-old Izuchukwu and 21-year-old Prendergast were part of Ireland’s tour of South Africa last summer but weren’t capped, while both were involved in the recent Emerging Ireland trip back to South Africa.
Farrell has named five additional ‘training panellists’ as he looks to kick their development on, with Connacht wing Shayne Bolton, Munster flanker Alex Kendellen, Leinster tighthead prop Thomas Clarkson, Leinster loosehead prop Jack Boyle, and Leinster academy hooker Gus McCarthy all involved.
Overall, Farrell’s squad has a settled, familiar look to it, with plenty of continuity from last summer’s tour to South Africa.
Back row Jack Conan, who was absent in July for personal reasons, misses out again through injury but Leinster out-half Ciarán Frawley has been included after an injury scare last weekend against Connacht, while Farrell has opted to choose only five props in his main squad.
Ulster lock Iain Henderson returns after missing the trip to South Africa, while first-choice scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park and right wing Mack Hansen are also back having been ruled out of that tour with injuries. Fullback Hugo Keenan, who was absent due to Ireland 7s duty last time, is another familiar returning face.
Jordan Larmour, Caolin Blade, Jimmy O’Brien, and Oli Jager – who all went to South Africa – are absent from this squad, with Jager and O’Brien currently injured.
Ireland will gather at the IRFU’s high performance centre in Dublin on Monday before flying out to Portugal for a training camp ahead of their first November Test against New Zealand on Friday 8 November.
They face Argentina the following Friday, welcome Fiji to the Aviva Stadium on Saturday 23 November and conclude the campaign against Australia on Saturday 30 November for what will be the IRFU’s 150th anniversary Test.
Ireland squad for 2024 November Tests:
Props: Andrew Porter, Cian Healy, Tom O’Toole, Tadhg Furlong, Finlay Bealham
Hookers: Rónan Kelleher, Rob Herring, Dave Heffernan
Locks: Joe McCarthy, Tadhg Beirne, James Ryan, Iain Henderson
Back rows: Caelan Doris (captain), Josh van der Flier, Peter O’Mahony, Cormac Izuchukwu, Ryan Baird, Nick Timoney, Cian Prendergast
Halfbacks: Jamison Gibson-Park, Craig Casey, Conor Murray, Jack Crowley, Ciarán Frawley, Sam Prendergast
Centres: Bundee Aki, Garry Ringrose, Robbie Henshaw, Stuart McCloskey
Back threes: Mack Hansen, James Lowe, Jamie Osborne, Hugo Keenan, Calvin Nash, Jacob Stockdale
Training panellists: Thomas Clarkson, Alex Kendellen, Shayne Bolton, Jack Boyle, Gus McCarthy.
