IRELAND HEAD COACH Joe Schmidt has picked a 42-man squad for the November Tests without star scrum-half Conor Murray.
Despite signing a new contract with the IRFU last month, the Munster man misses out on the four-Test schedule as he continues to recover from a neck injury.
There are three uncapped players among the group with Ulster’s Will Addison named among the back-line options alongside Munster centre Sam Arnold and Leinster out-half Ross Byrne, who toured Australia during the summer.
Addison was recruited to play for Ulster this season after coming through the ranks with the Sale Sharks, where he was club captain before crossing the sea.
Irish-qualified through his Fermanagh-born mother, Addison trained with Schmidt’s squad during the tour of Australia in June. The 26-year-old is comfortable in the back three, but has excelled in the centre for the northern province through the opening weeks of this season.
Ireland, who will be once again captained by Rory Best, have won 14 of the last 15 Tests, a run that took them to a Grand Slam and a successful series win in Australia. That form will be put to the ultimate exam next month as the back-to-back world champions New Zealand visit the Aviva Stadium on 17 November.
Schmidt’s side will begin their schedule in Chicago against Italy on 3 November before returning to Dublin to host Argentina on 10 November and the Guinness Series will conclude against USA on 24 November.
Ireland squad for November internationals 2018
Forwards (24)
Front row
Rory Best (Banbridge/Ulster) 111 (captain)
Sean Cronin (St. Mary’s College/Leinster) 62
Niall Scannell (Dolphin/Munster) 9
Rob Herring (Ballynahinch/Ulster) 6
Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster) 81
Dave Kilcoyne (UL Bohemians/Munster) 22
Jack McGrath (St. Mary’s College/Leinster) 50
Andrew Porter (UCD/Leinster) 8
John Ryan (Cork Constitution/Munster) 15
Finlay Bealham (Buccaneers/Connacht) 7
Tadhg Furlong (Clontarf/Leinster) 26
Second row
Tadhg Beirne (Munster) 2
Iain Henderson (Ballynahinch/Ulster) 39
Quinn Roux (Galwegians/Connacht) 6
James Ryan (UCD/Leinster) 11
Devin Toner (Lansdowne/Leinster) 60
Back row
Josh van der Flier (UCD/Leinster) 10
Dan Leavy (UCD/Leinster) 10
Jordi Murphy (Ulster) 23
Sean O’Brien (UCD/Leinster) 51
Peter O’Mahony (Cork Constitution/Munster) 50 (vc)
Rhys Ruddock (St Mary’s College/Leinster) 19
CJ Stander (Shannon/Munster) 26
Jack Conan (Old Belvedere/Leinster) 9
Backs (18)
Half-backs
Luke McGrath (UCD/Leinster) 6
Kieran Marmion (Corinthians/Connacht) 22
John Cooney (Terenure College/Ulster) 2
Jonathan Sexton (St. Mary’s College/Leinster) 76 (vc)
Ross Byrne (UCD/Leinster) *
Joey Carbery (Munster) 12
Centre
Garry Ringrose (UCD/Leinster) 14
Stuart McCloskey (Bangor/Ulster) 2
Robbie Henshaw (Buccaneers/Leinster) 36
Will Addison (Enniskillen/Ulster) *
Bundee Aki (Galwegians/Connacht) 9
Sam Arnold (Garryowen/Munster) *
Back three
Jacob Stockdale (Ballynahinch/Ulster) 11
Darren Sweetnam (Cork Constitution/Munster) 2
Jordan Larmour (St. Mary’s College/Leinster) 6
Rob Kearney (UCD/Leinster) 86
Keith Earls (Young Munster/Munster) 70
Andrew Conway (Garryowen/Munster) 7
(* denotes uncapped at international level, number next to play shows number of international appearances)
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