Kidney builds for future at Irish training camp

DECLAN KIDNEY’S aim of building a panel towards the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand continues after the Ireland head coach announced a 36-man squad for his first national camp this season.

While many of the names are unlikely to figure during the November Test Series, this camp will focus on the further development of the next tier of Ireland’s best talent, many of whom will harbour ambitions of making the 30-man RWC squad in two years’ time.

The camp takes place in Belfast from July 26-29 as Kidney also continues his policy of taking certain squad sessions out of Dublin and into the other provinces. The Grand Slam-winning coach includes many of the successful Ireland A squad who won the Churchill Cup in Colorado last month as well as those who partook in the two-test senior tour to Vancouver and Santa Clara.

Niall Ronan, Felix Jones, Fergus McFadden, Sean Cronin and Denis Hurley enjoyed productive tours to North America and are offered another chance to enhance their international development.

A plethora of senior players are included. Jerry Flannery, who continues to make excellent progress after chipping a bone on his elbow in Lions training at the end of May, will travel to Belfast along with several high profile senior players rested for the two summer tours. Denis Leamy and Marcus Horan will figure as well as Leinster’s Heineken Cup heroes Shane Jennings, Leo Cullen and Shane Horgan.

Johne Murphy is the only England-based player in the squad though the likes of London Irish’s Bob Casey and Neil Best (Northampton Saints), who had an excellent Churchill Cup campaign, will continue their training programmes at their Premiership clubs. Other notable absentees are Rory Best and Eoin Reddan who got married recently and will be on honeymoon.

The squad does not include players recovering from injury or any Irish members of the Lions party as they continue their holidays following the tour to South Africa.

The camp is the first of three get-togethers with further three-day camps set to take place in August and September. Ireland play three November Tests against Australia, Fiji and South Africa while a fourth Test played outside of Ireland against the Springboks is provisionally pencilled in for November 7.

Ireland squad (Summer training camp, Belfast, July 26-29):

Backs (17): I Boss (Ballymena/Ulster), D Cave (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster), I Dowling (Shannon/Munster), G Duffy (Galwegians/Connacht), S Horgan (Boyne/Leinster), D Hurley (Cork Constitution/Munster), F Jones (Seapoint/Munster), I Keatley (Galwegians/Connacht), F McFadden (UCD/Leinster), B Murphy (UL Bohemians/Munster), J Murphy (Leicester Tigers), N O’Connor (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster), J Sexton (St. Mary’s College/Leinster), P Stringer (Shannon/Munster), A Trimble (Ballymena/Ulster), P Wallace (Ballymena/Ulster), I Whitten (Ballymena/Ulster).

Forwards (19): T Buckley (Shannon/Munster), R Caldwell (Dungannon/Ulster), T Court (Malone/Ulster), S Cronin (Buccaneers/Connacht), L Cullen (Blackrock College/Leinster), J Flannery (Shannon/Munster), D Fogarty (Cork Constitution/Munster), C Healy (Clontarf/Leinster), C Henry (Ballymena/Ulster), M Horan (Shannon/Munster), S Jennings (St. Mary’s College/Leinster), D Leamy (Cork Constitution/Munster), J Muldoon (Galwegians/Connacht), M O’Driscoll (Cork Constitution/Munster), N Ronan (Shannon/Munster), M Ross (Unallocated/Leinster), D Ryan (Shannon/Munster), D Toner (Lansdowne/Leinster), B Wilkinson (Galwegians/Connacht).