Safety in numbers as Kidney names squad for autumn series

WHEN you name a squad with as large a complement as 34 players it is easy to keep one’s priorities under wraps and Declan Kidney certainly seems to have achieved that with his selections for next month’s Guinness Series of autumn internationals.

Ireland play South Africa on November 6 in the first rugby international to be staged at the new Aviva Stadium and there will follow visits in the following weekends from Samoa, New Zealand and Argentina. Of his 34 players selected for the task, there are two uncapped players in Leinster lock Devin Toner and versatile Munster back Johne Murphy and several players who missed out on what became an ill-fated summer tour to the Southern Hemisphere.

Accordingly, Ireland head coach Kidney welcomes back Rory Best, Keith Earls, Stephen Ferris, Denis Leamy, Seán O’Brien and Donncha Ryan following injuries that kept them out of that tour while Toner was also included but withdrew due to injury and Johne Murphy was called up late but played no part.