Ireland And O2 Ireland Wolfhounds Squads Announced

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

The Ireland team management have today announced squads for both the senior Ireland team and the upcoming O2 Ireland Wolfhounds game as prepartations begin for the 2012 RBS 6 Nations.

There are 24 players named in the Ireland senior squad, with six additional up and coming players named who will join the first week of Ireland camp in Limerick to train with the squad. The 22 man O2 Ireland Wolfhounds squad includes several uncapped players as well as full internationals. The Ireland squad, from which the team to play Wales will be selected, will be announced on Monday 30th January after the Wolfhounds game against the England Saxons.

Commenting on the announcement, Ireland Coach Declan Kidney said, "The Wolfhounds game gives myself and the other coaches one final chance to give games to players to see possible options before we settle on our match day 22 for the opening game.

"It also gives us the opportunity to have a closer look in training at some of the younger players, rather than bringing in more experienced players, who are very much still in the frame for selection.

"There have been some strong performances by players with the Provinces going really well. It always gives the squad a good boost when we have teams with players playing well in Europe before we step back up into the international scene."

Talking about the start of the RBS 6 Nations Championship, Kidney said, "It's a new tournament for us and for everybody involved, so irrespective of the highs and lows of the World Cup, it is a fresh and exciting challenge for us.

"The tournament begins what is big year for us, with a three test tour to New Zealand to come in June and ranking points all important for the Rugby World Cup in 2015, but the Six Nations always stands out as high point."

Ireland Training Squad
Rory Best (Banbridge - Ulster)
Tommy Bowe (Ospreys)
Tom Court (Malone - Ulster)
Sean Cronin (St.Mary's College - Leinster)
Leo Cullen (Blackrock College - Leinster)
Gordon D'Arcy (Lansdowne - Leinster)
Keith Earls (Young Munster - Munster)
Stephen Ferris (Dungannon - Ulster)
Cian Healy (Clontarf - Leinster)
Jamie Heaslip (Naas - Leinster)
Shane Jennings (St.Mary's College - Leinster)
Rob Kearney (UCD - Leinster)
Fergus McFadden (Old Belvedere - Leinster)
Conor Murray (Garryowen - Munster)
Sean O'Brien (Clontarf - Leinster)
Donncha O'Callaghan (Cork Constitution - Munster)
Paul O'Connell (Young Munster - Munster)
Ronan O'Gara (Cork Constitution - Munster)
Eoin Reddan (Lansdowne - Leinster)
Mike Ross (Clontarf - Leinster)
Donnacha Ryan (Shannon - Munster)
Jonathan Sexton (St.Mary's College - Leinster)
Andrew Trimble (Ballymena - Ulster)
Paddy Wallace (Ballymena - Ulster)
Additional Players
Ian Nagle (Cork Constitution - Munster)*
Peter O'Mahony (Cork Constitution - Munster)*
Tiernan O'Halloran (Galwegians - Connacht)*
Paddy McAllister (Ballynahinch - Ulster)*
Andrew Conway (Blackrock College - Leinster)*
Simon Zebo (Cork Constitution - Munster)*

O2 Ireland Wolfhounds
Stephen Archer (Cork Constitution - Munster)*
Isaac Boss (Terenure College - Leinster)
Gavin Duffy (Galwegians - Connacht)
Luke Fitzgerald (Blackrock College - Leinster)
Chris Henry (Belfast Harlequins - Ulster)
Denis Hurley (Cork Constitution - Munster)
David Kearney (Lansdowne - Leinster)*
Ian Keatley (Young Munster - Munster)
Ronan Loughney (Buccaneers - Connacht)*
Ian Madigan (Blackrock College - Leinster)*
Mike McCarthy (Buccaneers - Connacht)
Kevin McLaughlin (St.Mary's College - Leinster)
John Muldoon (Galwegians - Connacht)
Tomas O'Leary (Dolphin - Munster)
Eoin O'Malley (Old Belvedere - Leinster)*
Rhys Ruddock (St.Mary's College - Leinster)
Mike Sherry (Garryowen - Munster)*
Nevin Spence (Ballynahinch - Ulster)*
Devin Toner (Lansdowne - Leinster)
Dan Touhy (Ballymena - Ulster)
Damien Varley (Garryowen - Munster)
Brett Wilkinson (Galwegians - Connacht)*
Not considered due to injury:
Brian O'Driscoll, David Wallace, Darren Cave, Felix Jones, Jerry Flannery, Eoin Griffen*, Denis Leamy, Niall Ronan.
N.B. * denotes uncapped player

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

Speechless. Why is the injured 34 year old Leo Cullen in the full squad? Donncha O'Callaghan shouldn't be there either, nor should Paddy Wallace. Apparently Paul Marshall isn't even good enough for the A squad.

 

[lynam1104]

That is just complete ****. Luke Fitzgerald has been on great form not in the squad, Same goes for EOM. The worst thing is he's picked no out and out 13's. Wallace and D'Arcy are past it, so is Cullen (internationally anyway) and DOC is off form he doesn't even start at munster....

Although it is good to see Nagle and these young promising players being recognized.

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

Although it is good to see Nagle and these young promising players being recognized.

They're just tackle bags holders who are in neither the full or A squad.

 

[Peat]

I'm split.

As an Englishman, those squads are funny as f**k.

As an Ulster fan, I am angry that so many of our players have been denied the recognition they deserve - Marshall and Gilroy spring very quickly to mind, but there are others who arguably deserve spots in the Wolfhounds. How the hell have we got less players than Connacht in the Wolfhounds?

Although there is another part of me that likes the idea of keeping Henry and Tuohy for the whole 6N! Cheers Deccie!

 

[King_D'Arcy]

Christ almighty! That is way worse than I thought it was gonna be. I don't care if these lads even win the 6 nations, huge question marks have to surround Kidney for this ridiculous squad. What's the point in having DOC and Cullen in the squad?

No Tuohy, no Fitzgerald, no Toner, no O'Malley, no Henry. What a disgrace!

 

[Peat]

In fairness to Kidney, its quite possible that a few of the Wolfhounds will be moving up to the main squad. I believe that's already been stated.

Isn't Cullen out injured for 10 weeks anyway?

 

[Jockstap]

The Ireland team management have today announced squads for both the senior Ireland team and the upcoming O2 Ireland Wolfhounds game as prepartations begin for the 2012 RBS 6 Nations.

There are 24 players named in the Ireland senior squad, with six additional up and coming players named who will join the first week of Ireland camp in Limerick to train with the squad. The 22 man O2 Ireland Wolfhounds squad includes several uncapped players as well as full internationals. The Ireland squad, from which the team to play Wales will be selected, will be announced on Monday 30th January after the Wolfhounds game against the England Saxons.

Commenting on the announcement, Ireland Coach Declan Kidney said, "The Wolfhounds game gives myself and the other coaches one final chance to give games to players to see possible options before we settle on our match day 22 for the opening game.

"It also gives us the opportunity to have a closer look in training at some of the younger players, rather than bringing in more experienced players, who are very much still in the frame for selection.

"There have been some strong performances by players with the Provinces going really well. It always gives the squad a good boost when we have teams with players playing well in Europe before we step back up into the international scene."

Talking about the start of the RBS 6 Nations Championship, Kidney said, "It's a new tournament for us and for everybody involved, so irrespective of the highs and lows of the World Cup, it is a fresh and exciting challenge for us.

"The tournament begins what is big year for us, with a three test tour to New Zealand to come in June and ranking points all important for the Rugby World Cup in 2015, but the Six Nations always stands out as high point."

Ireland Training Squad
Rory Best (Banbridge - Ulster)
Tommy Bowe (Ospreys)
Tom Court (Malone - Ulster)
Sean Cronin (St.Mary's College - Leinster)
Leo Cullen (Blackrock College - Leinster)
Gordon D'Arcy (Lansdowne - Leinster)
Keith Earls (Young Munster - Munster)
Stephen Ferris (Dungannon - Ulster)
Cian Healy (Clontarf - Leinster)
Jamie Heaslip (Naas - Leinster)
Shane Jennings (St.Mary's College - Leinster)
Rob Kearney (UCD - Leinster)
Fergus McFadden (Old Belvedere - Leinster)
Conor Murray (Garryowen - Munster)
Sean O'Brien (Clontarf - Leinster)
Donncha O'Callaghan (Cork Constitution - Munster)
Paul O'Connell (Young Munster - Munster)
Ronan O'Gara (Cork Constitution - Munster)
Eoin Reddan (Lansdowne - Leinster)
Mike Ross (Clontarf - Leinster)
Donnacha Ryan (Shannon - Munster)
Jonathan Sexton (St.Mary's College - Leinster)
Andrew Trimble (Ballymena - Ulster)
Paddy Wallace (Ballymena - Ulster)
Additional Players
Ian Nagle (Cork Constitution - Munster)*
Peter O'Mahony (Cork Constitution - Munster)*
Tiernan O'Halloran (Galwegians - Connacht)*
Paddy McAllister (Ballynahinch - Ulster)*
Andrew Conway (Blackrock College - Leinster)*
Simon Zebo (Cork Constitution - Munster)*

O2 Ireland Wolfhounds
Stephen Archer (Cork Constitution - Munster)*
Isaac Boss (Terenure College - Leinster)
Gavin Duffy (Galwegians - Connacht)
Luke Fitzgerald (Blackrock College - Leinster)
Chris Henry (Belfast Harlequins - Ulster)
Denis Hurley (Cork Constitution - Munster)
David Kearney (Lansdowne - Leinster)*
Ian Keatley (Young Munster - Munster)
Ronan Loughney (Buccaneers - Connacht)*
Ian Madigan (Blackrock College - Leinster)*
Mike McCarthy (Buccaneers - Connacht)
Kevin McLaughlin (St.Mary's College - Leinster)
John Muldoon (Galwegians - Connacht)
Tomas O'Leary (Dolphin - Munster)
Eoin O'Malley (Old Belvedere - Leinster)*
Rhys Ruddock (St.Mary's College - Leinster)
Mike Sherry (Garryowen - Munster)*
Nevin Spence (Ballynahinch - Ulster)*
Devin Toner (Lansdowne - Leinster)
Dan Touhy (Ballymena - Ulster)
Damien Varley (Garryowen - Munster)
Brett Wilkinson (Galwegians - Connacht)*
Not considered due to injury:
Brian O'Driscoll, David Wallace, Darren Cave, Felix Jones, Jerry Flannery, Eoin Griffen*, Denis Leamy, Niall Ronan.
N.B. * denotes uncapped player

Wallace, O'Callaghan and Jennings instead of Fitzgerald, Touhy/Toner and Henry is absurd. Gilroy and Marshall didn't even make the Wolfhounds. The upside is if Kidney keeps losing matches surely he must be shown the door?

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

He'd want to promote somebody from the Wolfhounds since he's only named three backrowers in the full squad!

One positive is the total lack of Tony Buckle in either squad. Less positive is that Tom Court and Stephen Archer are the only backup tightheads. I think Jamie Hagan and Jon Andress are slightly unlucky not to have earned Wolfhounds selection since Archer is awful and Court is clearly a far better loosehead than tighthead.

Edit- just noticed he's named 4 backrowers in the squad which begs another question. Is Shane Jennings the future? He's not playing as well as either Chris Henry or Peter O'Mahony.

 

[Jockstap]

Christ almighty! That is way worse than I thought it was gonna be. I don't care if these lads even win the 6 nations, huge question marks have to surround Kidney for this ridiculous squad. What's the point in having DOC and Cullen in the squad?

No Tuohy, no Fitzgerald, no Toner, no O'Malley, no Henry. What a disgrace!

Classy.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

Jesus, i never thought he could pick a squad that bad. Nice to see he has given n no award to good performing youngsters. How could Gilroy , Marshall and O'malley not make the a side. If they were Welsh they'd be in and about the 1st XV. Pathetic .

 

[King_D'Arcy]

Classy.

Well what will have been gained? We're gonna be blooding no new players. A win would just be a last hurrah for a group of players on the brink of retirement.

 

[dullonien]

What the hell is Kidney doing? I could understand retaining POC, O'Gara and BOD if he was fit, but otherwise the older players simply had to go, especially those not currently playing well (I'm looking at you DOC). What is the point of Paddy Wallace? I've never rated him as a player, even if he can have the odd good game, but to pick him now is close to crazy.

I also don't understand the reason for announcing a squad of just 24 (including one injured player). What's the point of doing that, and then promote players from the wolfhounds. Why is there an 'aditional players' section, why aren't they just part of the full squad? Surely this just sends the message to those 'adition players' that Kidney doesn't think they're good enough to be in the full squad? That can't be good for morale and self-confidence within those players.

I thought Kidney was going to be a good coach, but he seems a little deluded. I know Ireland have a history of having Irish coaches, but maybe some outside perspective could be a good thing at the moment.

 

[profitius]

Its not the real squad IMO.

He'll choose the matchday squad from both teams. They just want to have a look at some players in the wolfhound squad and give others game time. So for instance, O'Malley, Tuohy and Fitzgerald etc could still end up in the main squad while O'Callaghan and Cullen etc might not play any part in the 6 nations..

Pity about the injuries to Griffina and Cave. Both were having good seasons.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

What the hell is Kidney doing? I could understand retaining POC, O'Gara and BOD if he was fit, but otherwise the older players simply had to go, especially those not currently playing well (I'm looking at you DOC). What is the point of Paddy Wallace? I've never rated him as a player, even if he can have the odd good game, but to pick him now is close to crazy.

I also don't understand the reason for announcing a squad of just 24 (including one injured player). What's the point of doing that, and then promote players from the wolfhounds. Why is there an 'aditional players' section, why aren't they just part of the full squad? Surely this just sends the message to those 'adition players' that Kidney doesn't think they're good enough to be in the full squad? That can't be good for morale and self-confidence within those players.

I thought Kidney was going to be a good coach, but he seems a little deluded. I know Ireland have a history of having Irish coaches, but maybe some outside perspective could be a good thing at the moment.

I agree completely with this. After this six nations comes and goes with Ireland not showing anything great and then when we get eaten by the All Blacks three times in the summer hopefully Kidney gets the sack and they bring in someone like Joe Schmidt or if they're adamant on an Irish coach they should get Conor O'Shea because he hasn't coached any of the players in the frame for an Irish spot.

 

[dullonien]

Its not the real squad IMO.

He'll choose the matchday squad from both teams. They just want to have a look at some players in the wolfhound squad and give others game time. So for instance, O'Malley, Tuohy and Fitzgerald etc could still end up in the main squad while O'Callaghan and Cullen etc might not play any part in the 6 nations..

Pity about the injuries to Griffina and Cave. Both were having good seasons.

Quite possible, but what's the point? Surely, with only a matter of weeks before the 6 nations starts, you want your squad together, getting to know each other (or getting re-acquainted) in preperation. If this isn't the final squad, then what's the point in it at all? Horribly bizzare!

 

[King_D'Arcy]

Looking at the facebook page the IRFU's big defence seems to be that it's not the final squad and that players can be picked from both squads for full internationals.... Then what was the point in even announcing a squad?

 

[dullonien]

Looking at the facebook page the IRFU's big defence seems to be that it's not the final squad and that players can be picked from both squads for full internationals.... Then what was the point in even announcing a squad?

I can understand picking a large squad and trimming it down after asessing the players in training. I can understand picking a small squad to keep things competitive, but that's still a minimum of ~ 30 players. I can't understand this however. Maybe he simply wanted to make Peat smile.......

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

I know Ireland have a history of having Irish coaches, but maybe some outside perspective could be a good thing at the moment.

Since the game went pro, Ireland have had 5 full time head coaches and three of them have been foreigners. New Zealanders Murray Kidd and Warren Gatland and Englishman Brian Ashton have coached the national team. Australian Tony (I think) D'arcy was involved with Ireland at the 2003 World Cup while South African Gert Smal and Ozzie Les Kiss are the current forwards and defence/backs coaches respectively. I think the kicking coach Mark Tainton is English. The backs coach at the last World Cup, Alan Gaffney, is Australian.

I do agree that the international setup needs some new voices though. I'd have parted company with Gaffney and Smal and brought in a new forwards and backs coach. In my opinion, Anthony Foley is getting more out the Munster forwards than Gert Smal is getting out of the Ireland pack. Likewise, Jono Gibbes has his Leinster pack playing at a more consistently high level than the Ireland pack. It's not that Smal is bad at his job, it's just that a new voice might stimulate the pack more than hearing the same voice for the last 3 years.

Kidney is a good coach for the type of rugby that was en vogue 3 or 4 years ago. Right now his 10 man game is a relic of the past and Ireland won't improve until it changes. Either Kidney adapts to the game as it's now played or he's in danger of losing his job.

 

[DuncTheDoodle]

Ireland seem reluctant to bring youngsters through. It's as though they're going out of their way to avoid selecting Gilroy, Marshall, ect. Even England under Martin Johnson were more likely to give youngsters a chance.