Ireland ‘A’ Squad Announced For Saxons Clash

Rory Best and Marcus Horan have been included in the 22-man Ireland ‘A’ squad to play the England Saxons this Sunday at the Rec in Bath (kick-off 2pm).

The Ireland management today announced the Ireland ‘A’ squad that will take on England Saxons in Bath this weekend.

The selected squad includes several players who have recently made their returns from injury or who will be looking to increase their competitive game-time ahead of the start of the 2010 RBS 6 Nations Championship. 

Marcus Horan, who played in Munster’s final Heineken Cup pool match, is named among the front rows alongside Rory Best, who also recently returned to full-time training with Ulster and lined out for Banbridge in the AIB League at the weekend having recovered from injury. 

Denis Hurley has been included in the squad and is being monitored on his recovery from the leg injury which forced his late withdrawal from Munster’s Heineken Cup clash against Northamptoon last Friday.

A final decision on Hurley’s fitness will be made later in the week.

Meanwhile, several players sat out training today with the Ireland senior squad in Limerick. Donncha O’Callaghan (knee), Sean Cronin (sprained ankle) and Stephen Ferris (shin) did not train today, but none of the players at this point have been ruled out of contention for the first weekend of the RBS 6 Nations.

Ronan O’Gara, Gordon D’Arcy, Jonathan Sexton and Shane Horgan all sat out training as well as a precaution following the weekend’s games.

The Ireland ‘A’ team and replacements will be confirmed on Thursday. Sunday’s encounter, a repeat of last year’s Churchill Cup final, will be broadcast live on Sky Sports 2 and we will also be running our O2 MatchDay Live service here on IrishRugby.ie.

IRELAND ‘A’ Squad (v England Saxons, Recreation Ground, Sunday, January 31, kick-off 2pm):

Rory Best (Banbridge/Ulster)
Isaac Boss (Ballymena/Ulster)
Tony Buckley (Shannon/Munster)
Ryan Caldwell (Dungannon/Ulster)
Darren Cave (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster)
Ian Dowling (Shannon/Munster)
John Fogarty (De La Salle Palmerston/Leinster)
Marcus Horan (Shannon/Munster)
Ian Humphreys (Ballymena/Ulster)
Denis Hurley (Cork Constitution/Munster)
Shane Jennings (St. Mary’s College/Leinster)
Keith Matthews (Buccaneers/Connacht)
John Muldoon (Galwegians/Connacht)
Fergus McFadden (Old Belvedere/Leinster)
Johne Murphy (Leicester Tigers)
Mick O’Driscoll (Cork Constitution/Munster)
Sean O’Brien (Clontarf/Leinster)
Niall Ronan (Shannon/Munster)
Mike Ross (Clontarf/Leinster)
Peter Stringer (Shannon/Munster)
Devin Toner (Lansdowne/Leinster)
Paddy Wallace (Ballymena/Ulster)