The Irish team facing Wales tonight has been named.

Defending world 50km Race Walk champion Robert Heffernan will lead the team, alongside rising stars Thomas Barr and Mark English.

If it was all about form, then Daryl Murphy would walk straight into the Irish team for the crunch European Championship qualifier against Scotland.

The Irish Seven Summits team has had to abandon its latest assault on the world’s highest mountain following the decision by Sherpas to withdraw their services following a spate of recent deaths.