Updated at 12.45
IRELAND HEAD COACH Joe Schmidt has named eight uncapped players in his 31-man squad for this summer’s tour to the US and Japan.
The eight players are split evenly between forwards and backs with Connacht hooker Dave Heffernan, Ulster lock Kieran Treadwell and Leinster duo of prop Andrew Porter and second row James Ryan earning selection.
Former Ireland U20 captain Ryan is yet to play a senior game for Leinster but actually lined out for Munster’s development side last weekend.
Connacht scrum-half John Cooney, who will be at Ulster next season, will also travel as will Leinster centre/wing Rory O’Loughlin, Ulster fullback/wing Jacob Stockdale and Munster centre Rory Scannell.
Notable absentees include Munster’s Darren Sweetnam and Leinster’s Adam Byrne while seasoned campaigners Rob Kearney, Jamie Heaslip and Sean Cronin also miss out as they continue to work their way back from injury.
Ulster centre Stuart Olding is another who misses out, having picked up an ankle injury in a loss to Ospreys earlier this month. Donnacha Ryan and Andrew Trimble are also not part of the travelling party.
One further player will also be added to the squad following this weekend’s fixtures for Leinster, Munster and Connacht.
It has also been confirmed that Racing 92 coach Ronan O’Gara will be working with the team for the New Jersey part of the tour while Girvan Dempsey will be with the squad for the second week and Felix Jones for the final leg.
Ireland will play three Test matches on the tour, firstly against the US Eagles in New Jersey on 10 June and then twice against 2019 World Cup opponents Japan, in Shizuoka on 17 June and Tokyo one week later.
Schmidt’s charges will be touring without their 11 British and Irish Lions, who will be otherwise engaged in New Zealand this summer, and the Ireland coach is looking forward to seeing how the younger members of the squad handle an international tour.
“With 11 players due to tour with the British and Irish Lions, plus a number of injuries to experienced internationals, the summer tour squad includes plenty of youth,” Schmidt said in a statement.
“There is a real freshness to the group, including the coaching staff, so we’re looking forward to what will be a very challenging summer tour.
“We have retained a sprinkling of experienced players, some of whom may yet be called up to the Lions, but the focus is really on challenging the younger players to cope with the heat and foreign conditions as well as the speed and physicality of Test rugby.”
Full squad:
Finlay Bealham (Buccaneers/Connacht) 6 caps
Joey Carbery (Clontarf/Leinster) 3 caps
Jack Conan (Old Belvedere/Leinster) 1 cap
Andrew Conway (Garryowen/Munster) 1 cap
John Cooney (Connacht) uncapped
Keith Earls (Young Munster/Munster) 59 caps
Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster) 67 caps
Dave Heffernan (Connacht/Buccaneers) uncapped
Paddy Jackson (Dungannon/Ulster) 23 caps
Dave Kilcoyne (UL Bohemians/Munster) 17 caps
Dan Leavy (UCD/Leinster) 2 caps
Kieran Marmion (Corinthians/Connacht) 13 caps
Luke Marshall (Ballymena/Ulster) 9 caps
Luke McGrath (UCD/Leinster) 1 cap
Tommy O’Donnell (UL Bohemians/Munster) 12 caps
Jack O’Donoghue (UL Bohemians/Munster) 1 cap
Tiernan O’Halloran (Buccaneers/Connacht) 3 caps
Rory O’Loughlin (Old Belvedere/Leinster) uncapped
Andrew Porter (UCD/Leinster) uncapped
Garry Ringrose (UCD/Leinster) 8 caps
Rhys Ruddock (St Mary’s College/Leinster) 13 caps
James Ryan (UCD/Leinster) uncapped
John Ryan (Cork Constitution/Munster) 6 caps
Niall Scannell (Dolphin/Munster) 4 caps
Rory Scannell (Dolphin/Munster) uncapped
Jacob Stockdale (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster) uncapped
Devin Toner (Lansdowne/Leinster) 47 caps
James Tracy (UCD/Leinster) 2 caps
Kieran Treadwell (Ballymena/Ulster) uncapped
Josh van der Flier (UCD/Leinster) 7 caps
Simon Zebo (Cork Constitution/Munster) 33 caps
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