Munster tyros in Irish squad

THOSE who like to champion young players will be pleased at the elevation of both Felix Jones and Conor Murray into the Irish squad to begin preparations later this month for the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

The Munster duo, Jones on the injured list and Murray still to make his mark, were not in the equation a few short months ago. Now both of them have a realistic chance of wild card selections on Declan Kidney’s squad for New Zealand.

Yes, it’s a 43-man squad but the Munster youngsters did enough in the last couple of months to leave Kidney and his coaching team with virtually no choice but to give them further exposure in the build up to the September tournament.