Caelan Doris named captain as Andy Farrell selects Ireland squad for Autumn Nations Series

Caelan Doris will captain the squad having led Ireland in the Guinness Six Nations victory over Italy.

SQUAD NAMED: Ireland senior men's team head coach Andy Farrell during an Emerging Ireland rugby squad training session. Pic: Seb Daly/Sportsfile

Caelan Doris will captain Ireland in next month’s Autumn Nations Series with Andy Farrell naming a 35-player squad for the Tests on Wednesday that includes uncapped duo Cormac Izuchukwu and Sam Prendergast.

Five further uncapped players have been named as additional training panellists by head coach Farrell, who has named his last Ireland squad before taking a sabbatical from the IRFU to prepare for the British & Irish Lions tour to Australia next summer. It also is his first selection since last July’s drawn series with the world-champion Springboks in South Africa with Izuchukwu and Prendergast having been on that tour while Doris was named skipper for the series-levelling second Test victory in Durban.

Doris replaced Peter O’Mahony as skipper that day in July as the Six Nations-winning captain and Test centurion was dropped to the bench and though Farrell has named O’Mahony in his squad for November, the Corkman looks set to miss the opening fixture against New Zealand on Friday, November 8 through injury.

Ireland will also face Argentina, Fiji and play the IRFU 150th Anniversary match with Joe Schmidt’s Australia on successive weekends but will be without first-choice hooker Dan Sheehan, ruled out through injury until the New Year. Ireland’s resources in that position have been further strained by injuries to Ronan Kelleher and Ulster pair Rob Herring and Tom Stewart, though Farrell has named Kelleher and Herring in his squad alongside Connacht’s Dave Heffernan.

The five uncapped players named as training panellists are Thomas Clarkson, Alex Kendellen, Shayne Bolton, Jack Boyle and Gus McCarthy who will join the full Ireland squad when they assemble at the IRFU High Performance Centre next Monday, before departing for a warm-weather training camp in Portugal in preparation Farrell said: "The challenge that awaits us this November is one of the toughest we could face and I would like to congratulate each of the players on their selection.

IRELAND'S CAPTAIN: Leinster’s Caelan Doris has been named as Ireland captain for the Autumn Nations series. Pic: ©INPHO/James Crombie

"There is a blend of youth and experience, but all of the players are selected on merit carried from their form in recent months from the summer tour, the early rounds of the URC and at the Emerging Ireland Tour.

"While some of the players have been sidelined of late, collectively they are making positive strides on the injury front and we are hopeful that they will come into the selection frame over the course of the coming weeks as they ramp up their respective rehab programmes.

"The Emerging Ireland Tours have presented a crop of less experienced players with the opportunity to impress and it was great to see a number of them take their chance. We have selected a further five uncapped players as Training Panellists in the extended panel and look forward to seeing them train up close over the coming weeks as they take the next steps in their playing careers.

"The Autumn Nations Series gives us the chance to play at home over four consecutive weekends, and with two Friday night games first up against New Zealand and Argentina, followed by Fiji and the IRFU’s 150th anniversary Test against Australia, it promises to be a cracking atmosphere next month at a packed Aviva Stadium."

Newly-appointed captain Doris said: "It is an enormous honour to be named Ireland captain and I am excited about leading the squad into battle over the coming weeks. I am very fortunate to have had so much support from my family and friends and many others along the way from Mayo to Blackrock and on to Leinster and Ireland. I am extremely proud to lead this squad and I know that there's an experienced group of leaders who will work hard to achieve success in the weeks ahead.

“We have a special group of players and I am confident that there are bright days to come as we build up for four huge Tests at Aviva Stadium."

Ireland Squad - Autumn Nations Series 2024

Player/Club/Province/Caps

Forwards (19):

Ryan Baird (Dublin University/Leinster)(22)

Finlay Bealham (Buccaneers/Connacht)(42)

Tadhg Beirne (Lansdowne/Munster)(52)

Caelan Doris (St Mary’s College/Leinster)(43) (captain)

Tadhg Furlong (Clontarf/Leinster)(78)

Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster)(131)

Dave Heffernan (Buccaneers/Connacht)(7)

Iain Henderson (Academy/Ulster)(81)

Rob Herring (Ballynahinch/Ulster)(40)

Cormac Izuchukwu (Ballynahinch/Ulster)*

Rónan Kelleher (Lansdowne/Leinster)(33)

Joe McCarthy (Dublin University/Leinster)(12)

Peter O’Mahony (Cork Constitution/Munster)(107)

Tom O'Toole (Ballynahinch/Ulster)(13)

Andrew Porter (UCD/Leinster)(66)

Cian Prendergast (UCD/Connacht)(3)

James Ryan (UCD/Leinster)(64)

Nick Timoney (Banbridge/Ulster)(3)

Josh van der Flier (UCD/Leinster)(64)

Backs (16):

Bundee Aki (Galwegians/Connacht)(57)

Craig Casey (Shannon/Munster)(15)

Jack Crowley (Cork Constitution/Munster)(16)

Ciaran Frawley (UCD/Leinster)(6)

Jamison Gibson-Park (Leinster)(35)

Mack Hansen (Corinthians/Connacht)(21)

Robbie Henshaw (Buccaneers/Leinster)(74)

Hugo Keenan (UCD/Leinster)(39)

James Lowe (Leinster)(33)

Stuart McCloskey (Bangor/Ulster)(18)

Conor Murray (Garryowen/Munster)(118)

Calvin Nash (Young Munster/Munster)(8)

Jamie Osborne (Naas/Leinster)(2)

Sam Prendergast (Lansdowne/Leinster)*

Garry Ringrose (UCD/Leinster)(60)

Jacob Stockdale (Lurgan/Ulster)(37)

Training Panellists (5):

Thomas Clarkson (Dublin University/Leinster)*

Alex Kendellen (UCC/Munster)*

Shayne Bolton (Connacht)*

Jack Boyle (UCD/Leinster)*

Gus McCarthy (UCD/Leinster)*

* denotes uncapped player