Late bloomer Fogarty happy to toast brothers in arms

IF John Fogarty manages to win his first international cap against Australia next week, he will raise a glass to toast his two brothers, Damian and Denis.

Older brother Damian helped give him the hardness required to become a professional player in the first place, while Denis, two years his junior, contributed to the development of his competitive edge to its current peak.

Leinster’s Fogarty is one of three hookers named in Declan Kidney’s Irish squad of 39 players for the autumn series of internationals, but with Jerry Flannery struggling to recover from a calf muscle injury, the Cork-born 32-year-old now finds himself in the front line for selection against the Wallabies.