Joe Schmidt has named three uncapped players in his Ireland squad for the opening rounds of the 2019 Guinness Six Nations as the reigning champions prepare to defend their crown.
Connacht trio Caolin Blade, Tom Farrell and Jack Carty have all been selected in the 38-strong party, which will attempt to repeat last year’s Grand Slam triumph.
Carty’s fine form for his province is rewarded as he makes the squad ahead of Leinster counterpart Ross Byrne and joins Jonathan Sexton and Joey Carbery as the fly-half options for the final Championship of Schmidt’s reign.
Rory Best will once again captain Ireland, who host England on the opening weekend of the Guinness Six Nations before heading to BT Murrayfield to face Scotland.
Ulster lock Iain Henderson has been included after making a rapid recovery from a thumb injury he sustained at the end of last year.
But Grand Slam-winning flanker Dan Leavy is out injured for now – although Schmidt admits he expects him to return at some point.
Schmidt, who will step down as Ireland head coach following the Rugby World Cup later this year, said: “It’s been great to watch the provincial teams doing so well in recent weeks.
“With another very competitive round of EPCR this weekend, the following Ireland squad for the first two matches of the Six Nations has been selected, knowing that late changes may be required, depending on how the matches go in the weekend.
“There have been a number of tight calls across almost every position.”
Speaking about the loss of Luke McGrath and the inclusion of the uncapped Connacht pair of Blade and Carty, Schmidt added: “Conor Murray is back but Luke McGrath’s knee injury against Toulouse is likely to rule him out of the Six Nations.
“Kieran Marmion is not too far away from returning but John Cooney will hopefully be back this weekend for Ulster. It’s a great opportunity for Caolin Blade to get into camp and compete for a spot.
“Johnny Sexton is making good progress, while Joey Carbery and Jack Carty have both performed consistently well so far this season.
“Ross Byrne is unlucky in an incredibly tight call. He is still definitely in our thinking and will continue to press for inclusion through the Six Nations.”
IRELAND SQUAD FOR GUINNESS SIX NATIONS – ROUNDS 1 & 2
FORWARDS: Rory Best (Ulster), Tadhg Beirne (Munster), Jack Conan (Leinster), Sean Cronin (Leinster), Ultan Dillane (Connacht), Tadhg Furlong (Leinster), Cian Healy (Leinster), Iain Henderson (Ulster), Dave Kilcoyne (Munster), Jack McGrath (Leinster), Jordi Murphy (Ulster), Sean O’Brien (Leinster), Peter O’Mahony (Munster), Andrew Porter (Leinster) Rhys Ruddock (Leinster), James Ryan (Leinster), John Ryan (Munster), Niall Scannell (Munster), CJ Stander (Munster), Devin Toner (Leinster), Josh van der Flier (Leinster)
BACKS: Will Addison (Ulster), Bundee Aki (Connacht), Caolin Blade (Connacht), Joey Carbery (Munster), Jack Carty (Connacht), Andrew Conway (Munster), John Cooney (Ulster), Keith Earls (Munster), Chris Farrell (Munster), Tom Farrell (Connacht), Robbie Henshaw (Leinster), Rob Kearney (Leinster), Jordan Larmour (Leinster), Conor Murray (Munster), Garry Ringrose (Leinster), Jonathan Sexton (Leinster), Jacob Stockdale (Ulster)
