Kidney announces squad for Six Nations clash

Ireland coach Declan Kidney has announced a reduced 27-man squad for the opening game in the RBS Six Nations Championship against France on Saturday, February 7.

The team and replacements for the game will be selected next Tuesday ahead of the Croke Park clash.

There are 14 forwards included in the panel, with Ulster’s uncapped prop Tom Court retained with the senior squad for next week.

The other members of the initial RBS Six Nations Squad have moved into a 22-man A squad. The starting team and replacements will also be confirmed next Tuesday.

The Ireland A side will play England Saxons on Friday, February 6 in Donnybrook. Tickets for this game are available on Ticketmaster.ie.

Ireland Squad V France:

Backs:

Tommy Bowe (Ospreys)

Girvan Dempsey (Terenure College - Leinster)

Gordon D’Arcy (Lansdowne - 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)

Peter Stringer (Shannon - Munster)

Paddy Wallace (Ballymena - Ulster)

Forwards:

Rory Best (Banbridge - Ulster)

Tom Court (Malone - Ulster)

Stephen Ferris (Dungannon - Ulster)

Jerry Flannery (Shannon - Munster)

John Hayes (Bruff- Munster)

Jamie Heaslip (Naas - Leinster)

Marcus Horan (Shannon - Munster)

Denis Leamy (Cork Constitution - Munster)

Donncha O'Callaghan (Cork Constitution - Munster)

Paul O'Connell (Young Munster - Munster)

Mick O'Driscoll (Cork Constitution - Munster)

Malcolm O’Kelly (St.Mary’s College - Leinster)

Alan Quinlan (Shannon - Munster)

David Wallace (Garryowen - Munster)

Team Squad v England Saxons

Backs:

Isaac Boss (Ballymena - Ulster)

Darren Cave (Belfast Harlequins - Ulster)

Ian Dowling (Shannon - Munster)

Gavin Duffy (Galwegians - Connacht)

Ian Humphreys (Ballymena - Ulster)

Keith Matthews (Buccaneers - Connacht)

Eoin Reddan (Wasps)

Jonathan Sexton (St. Mary's College - Leinster)

Andrew Trimble (Ballymena - Ulster)

Forwards:

John Andress (Exeter)

Neil Best (Northampton)

Ryan Caldwell (Dungannon - Ulster)

Bob Casey (London Irish)

Sean Cronin (Buccaneers -Connacht)

Cian Healy (Clontarf - Leinster)

Bernard Jackman (Clontarf - Leinster)

Shane Jennings (St. Mary's College - Leinster)

John Muldoon (Galwegians - Connacht)

Mike Ross (Harlequins)*

Donnacha Ryan (Shannon - Munster)

Sean O’Brien (Clontarf - Leinster)

A.N. Other to be added to the squad.