Ireland squad: Hammer blow as key duo miss Springboks series, three uncapped players selected

Jamison-Gibson-Park-and-Andy-Farrell-image-Alamy

Ireland will be without both Jamison Gibson-Park and Jack Conan for their upcoming tour to South Africa as they name three uncapped players in a 35-man squad.

Scrum-half Gibson-Park is ruled out with a hamstring injury, while number eight Conan will be absent for personal reasons, the Irish Rugby Football Union has confirmed.

The latter’s absence has coincided with a call-up for young Ulster flanker Cormac Izuchukwu, with Jamie Osborne and Sam Prendergast the other uncapped players picked.

Two-match series

The touring squad will assemble at the IRFU High-Performance Centre in Dublin on Thursday to begin preparations for the two-match Test series against the Springboks.

Andy Farrell‘s charges will depart for Johannesburg from Tuesday, 25 June ahead of what is a mouth-watering series with the back-to-back Rugby World Cup winners.

The head coach has opted to pick Prendergast ahead of his fellow Leinster fly-halves, Ross and Harry Byrne, with Jack Crowley and Ciaran Frawley the other options.

Caolin Blade, Craig Casey and Conor Murray are the scrum-halves while Robbie Henshaw, Bundee Aki, Stuart McCloskey, Garry Ringrose and Osborne are the centres.

The outside backs consist of Jordan Larmour, James Lowe, Jimmy O’Brien and Jacob Stockdale with the versatile Frawley able to cover the full-back jersey if required.

Springboks: Shock call at fly-half while Malcolm Marx makes long-awaited return against Wales

Finlay Bealham, Tadhg Furlong, Cian Healy, Oli Jager, Tom O’Toole and Andrew Porter are the props, with Rob Herring, Ronan Kelleher and Dan Sheehan the hookers.

Farrell’s second-row picks are Tadhg Beirne, Joe McCarthy and James Ryan, while Ryan Baird, Caelan Doris, Cian Prendergast, Josh van der Flier, Nick Timoney, Izuchukwu and captain Peter O’Mahony complete the squad as the back-row options.

Looking ahead to the tour, Farrell said: “Travelling to South Africa to play a Test series against the defending world champions provides no greater test for us, and it is another valuable opportunity for us to further grow and develop from the Guinness Six Nations.

“The squad will come together in Dublin this week in preparation for the Tour and the group understands the need to hit the ground running, ensuring we are the best version of ourselves for the challenge ahead.”

Ireland captain O’Mahony added: “I am proud to be asked to lead Ireland in South Africa, a country which provides one of the toughest challenges in world rugby.

“As reigning world champions, South Africa will provide the sternest of tests, and we know that we will have to perform at a high level to get the results we want. There’s a lot of respect and familiarity between both countries in recent years at international and Club levels, since they were invited to join the URC and European Cup competitions, and we know the challenge that awaits.”

Ireland squad for South Africa series

Forwards: Ryan Baird, Finlay Bealham, Tadhg Beirne, Caelan Doris, Tadhg Furlong, Cian Healy, Rob Herring, Cormac Izuchukwu, Oli Jager, Ronan Kelleher, Joe McCarthy, Peter O’Mahony (c), Tom O’Toole, Andrew Porter, Cian Prendergast, James Ryan, Dan Sheehan, Nick Timoney, Josh van der Flier

Backs: Bundee Aki, Caolin Blade, Craig Casey, Jack Crowley, Ciaran Frawley, Robbie Henshaw, Jordan Larmour, James Lowe, Stuart McCloskey, Conor Murray, Calvin Nash, Jimmy O’Brien, Jamie Osborne, Sam Prendergast, Garry Ringrose, Jacob Stockdale

Unavailable: Jamison Gibson-Park (hamstring injury) and Jack Conan (personal reasons).