Kidney names 28-man squad

Ireland coach Declan Kidney has erred on the side of caution in going for an extended 28-man squad ahead of the final game in the Guinness Series against Argentina this Saturday in Croke Park.

Dead-leg sufferers Rory Best and Paul O'Connell and Alan Quinlan, cited for an alleged stamp, have been included in the enlarged squad.

Coach Kidney said: "Both Paul and Rory are doing okay as they rehab from their dead legs and took a limited part in training today. Alan is involved in a disciplinary hearing, so we are just trying to give as much time possible for these matters to be cleared up before we confirm the team".

"All three of them have been named in the squad and the fact that we decided on 28 members shows how competitive the battle for places in this game is. It also allows us to cover several combinations if anybody is ruled out of the game.

"While we would normally name our team today, I think the circumstances and also the importance of the game meant we needed to give ourselves that extra couple of days to consider all the options that would become available to us".

He continued: "Nobody is doubting the challenge that faces us this Saturday against another team that is above us in the IRB rankings. Added to the fact that both teams have something to play for in terms of those world rankings, I think that it gives this game even more of a competitive edge. As I said on Monday, Argentina is a team that work and play extremely hard for each other, so they will no doubt be even better then they have been in their two games to date".

The starting team and replacements to play Argentina will be confirmed on Thursday morning.

IRELAND SQUAD:

Backs: Tommy Bowe (Ospreys), Girvan Dempsey (Terenure College - Leinster), Keith Earls (Young Munster - Munster), Luke Fitzgerald (Blackrock College - Leinster), Shane Horgan (Boyne - Leinster), Robert Kearney (UCD - Leinster), Geordan Murphy (Leicester), Brian O'Driscoll (UCD - Leinster), Ronan O'Gara (Cork Constitution - Munster), Tomas O'Leary (Dolphin - Munster), Eoin Reddan (Wasps), Paddy Wallace (Ballymena - Ulster).

Forwards: Rory Best (Banbridge - Ulster), Tony Buckley (Shannon - Munster), Bob Casey (London Irish), Tom Court (Ballymena - Munster), Stephen Ferris (Dungannon - Ulster), Jerry Flannery (Shannon - Munster), John Hayes (Bruff- Munster), Jamie Heaslip (Naas - Leinster), Marcus Horan (Shannon - Munster), Bernard Jackman (Clontarf - Leinster), Shane Jennings (St. Mary's College - Leinster), Donncha O'Callaghan (Cork Constitution - Munster), Paul O'Connell (Young Munster - Munster), Malcolm O'Kelly (St. Mary's College - Leinster), Alan Quinlan (Shannon - Munster), David Wallace (Garryowen - Munster).