RUGBY NEWS:IN THE absence of several of Ireland's front line players, Ireland coach Declan Kidney will use the first Ireland squad session of the new season to see some new faces.
A 36-man Ireland squad will travel to Belfast from July 26th- 29th for the first of the squad’s summer get-togethers. The camp is the first of three before the competitive season starts proper, with further three-day camps taking place in August and September.
The squad is made up of players that were involved in the summer tours to the US and the Churchill Cup during May and June as well as several senior players who were not included in any of the overseas tours.
Neither does the squad include several players (such as Tomás O’Leary and Stephen Ferris) who are recovering from injury or any of the Irish members of the British and Irish Lions party that spent two months in South Africa.
Brian O’Driscoll, Rob Kearney, Paul O’Connell, Luke Fitzgerald and Jamie Heaslip remain on holidays following a continuous run of matches from the beginning of the 2008-09 season to the end of the Lions tour.
IRELAND SQUAD:Isaac Boss (Ballymena, Ulster); Tony Buckley (Shannon, Munster); Ryan Caldwell (Dungannon, Ulster); Darren Cave (Belfast Harlequins, Ulster); Tom Court (Malone, Ulster); Seán Cronin (Buccaneers, Connacht); Leo Cullen (Blackrock, Leinster); Ian Dowling (Shannon, Munster); Gavin Duffy (Galwegians, Connacht); Jerry Flannery (Shannon, Munster); Dennis Fogarty (Cork Constitution, Munster); Cian Healy (Clontarf, Leinster); Chris Henry (Ballymena, Ulster); Marcus Horan (Shannon, Munster); Shane Horgan (Boyne, Leinster); Denis Hurley (Cork Constitution, Munster); Shane Jennings (St Mary's, Leinster); Felix Jones (Seapoint, Munster); Ian Keatley (Galwegians, Connacht); Denis Leamy (Cork Constitution, Munster); Fergus McFadden (UCD, Leinster); John Muldoon (Galwegians, Connacht); Barry Murphy (UL Bohemians, Munster); John Murphy (Leicester Tigers); Niall O'Connor (Belfast Harlequins, Ulster); Mick O'Driscoll (Cork Constitution, Munster); Niall Ronan (Shannon, Munster); Mike Ross (unallocated, Leinster) Donnacha Ryan (Shannon, Munster); Jonathan Sexton (St Mary's, Leinster); Peter Stringer (Shannon, Munster); Devon Toner (Lansdowne, Leinster); Andrew Trimble (Ballymena, Ulster); Paddy Wallace (Ballymena, Ulster); Ian Whitten (Ballymena, Ulster); Brett Wilkinson (Galwegians, Connacht).
