Ireland A to Play France A

The Ireland A team are scheduled to play their French counterparts in an A’
international in Donnybrook on Friday, March 11th 2005 at 7.00pm. This will be the first
outing for the Ireland A team since 2003 when they played England A in Donnybrook in
March.

The A’ series of games was discontinued the following season but the need for further
international competitive experience has led to this game being arranged between the
Irish and French Unions.

Irish Coach Eddie O’Sullivan welcomed the news and said, This game will be important in
developing Irish players and gives them the opportunity to gain valuable international
playing experience. It also gives the Irish coaching staff the opportunity to monitor
players outside of the provincial competitions and it is vital that this sort of player
development continues.