Andy Farrell has named a 35-man Ireland squad which includes six uncapped players for the final two rounds of the 2020 Guinness Six Nations.
Ryan Baird, Ed Byrne, Will Connors, Shane Daly, Hugo Keenan and Jamison Gibson Park have all be selected for the squad, which will be captained by Johnny Sexton.
While Baird and Connors have been involved in national camps before it will be a first time with the national squad for the other uncapped players selected by Farrell.
In addition Harry Byrne, Craig Casey, James Lowe, James Tracy and Fineen Wycherley will train with the squad next week at IRFU High Performance Centre in Dublin.
Ireland take on Italy at the Aviva Stadium on October 24 before facing France in Paris the following weekend (October 31st), with Farrell’s men currently sitting fourth in the standings.
They are one point behind Scotland and four points behind England and France, who have all played an extra game, and know two bonus point wins would secure them the title.
Back in February before the Championship was suspended, Ireland recorded wins over Scotland (19-12) and Wales (24-12) before losing to England (12-24) at Twickenham.
Farrell said: “There has been a huge effort right across Irish Rugby to ensure that the professional game could return safely and that work is greatly appreciated by the national management.
“We have protocols in place to safeguard the welfare of the players and staff and are looking forward to completing the Six Nations Championships.
“We have two competitions to play in over the coming months but will focus first on a strong finish to the Six Nations Championships.
“The return to rugby has not been without its challenges as some players have suffered injury setbacks and there has been limited playing opportunities ahead of a busy and exciting international window.
“We will be closely monitoring the form and fitness of players competing in the Guinness PRO14 over the coming weeks.”
Ireland Squad 2020 Guinness 6 Nations Championships Round 4 & 5
Backs
Bundee Aki (Connacht) 26 caps
Ross Byrne (Leinster) 6 caps
Jack Carty (Connacht) 10 caps
Andrew Conway (Munster) 21 caps
Shane Daly (Munster) uncapped
Chris Farrell (Munster) 9 caps
Jamison Gibson Park (Leinster) uncapped
Robbie Henshaw (Leinster) 43 caps
Hugo Keenan (Leinster) uncapped
Jordan Larmour (Leinster) 24 caps
Kieran Marmion (Connacht) 27 caps
Stuart McCloskey (Ulster) 3 caps
Conor Murray (Munster) 81 caps
Garry Ringrose (Leinster) 29 caps
Jonathan Sexton (Leinster) 91 caps CAPTAIN
Jacob Stockdale (Ulster) 28 caps
Forwards
Ryan Baird (Leinster) uncapped
Finlay Bealham (Connacht) 9 caps
Tadhg Beirne (Munster) 13 caps
Ed Byrne (Leinster) uncapped
Will Connors (Leinster) uncapped
Jack Conan (Leinster) 17 caps
Caelan Doris (Leinster) 2 caps
Cian Healy (Leinster) 98 caps
Dave Heffernan (Connacht) 1 cap
Iain Henderson (Ulster) 55 caps
Rob Herring (Ulster) 11 caps
Ronan Kelleher (Leinster) 3 caps
Peter O’Mahony (Munster) 67 caps
Andrew Porter (Leinster) 26 caps
Quinn Roux (Connacht) 12 caps
James Ryan (Leinster) 26 caps
John Ryan (Munster) 21 caps
CJ Stander (Munster) 41 caps
Josh van der Flier (Leinster) 26 caps
Training with Squad w/c 12th October
Harry Byrne (Leinster) uncapped
Craig Casey (Munster) uncapped
James Lowe (Leinster) uncapped
James Tracy (Leinster) 6 caps
Fineen Wycherley (Munster) uncapped
