Former Stormers star in Ireland World Cup squad
SQUAD ANNOUNCEMENT: Ireland named a 44-man training squad for the upcoming World Cup.
The squad will go into pre-season preparatory camps, which commence in mid-June.
The squad includes two uncapped players, Mike Haley and Jean Kleyn, while Leinster duo Sean O’Brien and Dan Leavy are left out due to injury.
Fullback Haley joined the province from Sale last year and is eligible for Ireland through his Kerry-born grandmother.
South African lock Kleyn qualifies through the three-year residency rule, which will see him become available to Ireland on the eve of this year’s tournament in Japan.
Over the course of the pre-season period the squad will hold camps in Galway and Limerick as well as their usual base in Maynooth.
In August, Ireland will play at the Aviva Stadium in two fixtures – firstly against Italy (August 10) and then Wales (September 7).
Ireland will also face off against England in Twickenham (August 24) and Wales at the Principality Stadium (August 31).
“The provinces have done a great job throughout the season with all four of them being involved in two sets of play-offs,” Ireland coach Joe Schmidt said.
“There were some very close calls in selection and it’s always a challenging process because the coaching group are very conscious of how hard the players work.
“It’s ideal that they get a good opportunity to relax for a few weeks before getting stuck into pre-season training and busy ‘Summer Series’ in the lead up to the World Cup.
“Some players have missed out through injury and there are one or two guys that may be added into the squad at a later stage.”
IRELAND training squad
Forwards: Finlay Bealham (Buccaneers/Connacht), Rory Best (Banbridge/Ulster), Tadhg Beirne (Lansdowne/Munster), Jack Conan (Old Belvedere/Leinster), Sean Cronin (St Mary’s College/Leinster), Ultan Dillane (Corinthians/Connacht), Tadhg Furlong (Clontarf/Leinster), Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster), Iain Henderson (Queens University/Ulster), Rob Herring (Ballynahinch/Ulster), Dave Kilcoyne (UL Bohemians/Munster), Jean Kleyn (Munster), Jack McGrath (St Marys College/Leinster), Jordi Murphy (Lansdowne/Ulster), Tommy O’Donnell (UL Bohemians/Munster), Peter O’Mahony (Cork Constitution/Munster), Andrew Porter (UCD/Leinster), Rhys Ruddock (Lansdowne/Leinster), James Ryan (UCD/Leinster), John Ryan (Cork Constitution/Munster), Niall Scannell (Dolphin/Munster), CJ Stander (Shannon/Munster), Devin Toner (Lansdowne/Leinster), Josh van der Flier (UCD/Leinster).
Backs: Bundee Aki (Galwegians/Connacht), Ross Byrne (UCD/Leinster), Joey Carbery (Clontarf/Munster), Jack Carty (Buccaneers/Connacht), Andrew Conway (Garryowen/Munster), John Cooney (Terenure College/Ulster), Keith Earls (Young Munster/Munster), Chris Farrell (Young Munster/Munster), Mike Haley (Munster), Robbie Henshaw (Buccaneers/Leinster), Dave Kearney (Lansdowne/Leinster), Rob Kearney (UCD/Leinster), Jordan Larmour (St Mary’s College/Leinster), Kieran Marmion (Galwegians/Connacht), Luke McGrath (UCD/Leinster), Conor Murray (Garryowen/Munster), Garry Ringrose (UCD/Leinster), Rory Scannell (Dolphin/Munster), Jonathan Sexton (St Marys College/Leinster), Jacob Stockdale (Lurgan/Ulster).
