Extended crew for mini camp

Ireland coach Eddie O’Sullivan has named a slightly extended 34-man squad for the mini camp in Dublin from September 17-20.

While there are some notable absentees due to injury and rehabilitation, there are also some new faces to the squad with Ireland A front rowers John Fogarty and Tom Court making the camp after featuring in the Churchill Cup during the summer.

The other Churchill Cup squad members joining the mini camp are Paddy Wallace, Jamie Heaslip and Matt McCullough, who have already been part of previous Ireland squads.

Eddie O’Sullivan said: "The Churchill Cup has opened up other possible options, so we felt it was worth bringing some of the players into the senior set up to take a closer look at them and monitor their progress."

O’Sullivan will welcome back some experienced players who missed the summer tour due to injury, with Simon Easterby, Frankie Sheahan, Eoin Reddan and John Kelly, who cried off the week before the squad departed for New Zealand, all returning to the squad.

With the return of these internationals, there are also some experienced players who have not been named in this particular squad. Eddie O’Sullivan said: "While this camp allows us to look at our options, there are some players who toured New Zealand and Australia during the summer who are not part of this training camp, but this does not mean that these players will not be considered or figure in the Autumn Internationals."

Ireland Mini Camp Squad

Forwards (18):

Rory Best (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster)

Neil Best (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster)

Peter Bracken (Wasps)

Tom Court (Dungannon/Ulster)

Simon Easterby (Llanelli)

John Fogarty (Buccaneers/Connacht)

Keith Gleeson (St.Mary’s College/Leinster)

Jamie Heaslip (Clontarf/Leinster)

Marcus Horan (Shannon/Munster)

Denis Leamy (Cork Constitution/Munster)

Matt McCullough (Ballymena/Ulster)

Donncha O’Callaghan (Cork Constitution/Munster)

Paul O’Connell (Young Munster/Munster)

Mick O’Driscoll (Cork Constitution/Munster)

Alan Quinlan (Shannon/Munster)

Frankie Sheahan (Cork Constitution/Munster)

David Wallace (Garryowen/Munster)

Bryan Young (Ballymena/Ulster)

Backs (16):

Isaac Boss (Ballymena/Ulster)

Tommy Bowe (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster)

Girvan Dempsey (Terenure College/Leinster)

Gavin Duffy (Harlequins)

Anthony Horgan (Cork Constitution/Munster)

Shane Horgan (Lansdowne/Leinster)

Denis Hickie (St.Mary’s College/Leinster)

John Kelly (Cork Constitution/Munster)

Geordan Murphy (Leicester)

Brian O’Driscoll (Blackrock College/Leinster)

Ronan O’Gara (Cork Constitution/Munster)

Eoin Reddan (Wasps)

Jeremy Staunton (Wasps)

Peter Stringer (Shannon/Munster)

Andrew Trimble (Ballymena/Ulster)

Paddy Wallace (Ballymena/Ulster)

Not considered due to injury:

Simon Best (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster) {Leg)

Gordon D’Arcy (Lansdowne/Leinster) {Shoulder}

Jerry Flannery (Shannon/Munster) {Shoulder}

John Hayes (Bruff/Munster) {Ankle}

Johnny O’Connor (Wasps) {Neck}

Malcolm O’Kelly (St.Mary’s College/Leinster) {Groin}