Caelan Doris has been named as Ireland’s Captain in a 35-player Ireland Men’s Squad for the upcoming Autumn Nations Series at Aviva Stadium.
The opening game of the Series will be against New Zealand on Friday, 8 November (Kick-off 8.10pm).
The side will then host Argentina at Aviva Stadium on Friday, 15 November (Kick-off 8.10pm) and go head-to-head with Fiji on Saturday, 23 November (Kick-off 3.10pm), before concluding the campaign against Australia for Irish Rugby’s 150th Anniversary Test on Saturday, 30 November (Kick-off 3.10pm).
All four matches will be live on Virgin Media in the Republic of Ireland and TNT Sports in the United Kingdom.
Caelan Doris will captain the squad, having led Ireland in Peter O’Mahony’s absence in the Guinness Six Nations victory over Italy last February and the Second Test defeat of South Africa in July. O’Mahony was named as captain after Jonny Sexton’s retirement and is still named in the squad but without the armband.
Farrell has included two uncapped players in his squad for November’s four-match series against New Zealand, Argentina, Fiji and Australia.
Uncapped duo Cormac Izuchukwu and Sam Prendergast, who both featured for Emerging Ireland in Bloemfontein last month and were also part of Farrell’s Summer Tour squad to South Africa, will be hoping to earn their debut caps in November.
Additionally, Farrell has included five uncapped players – Thomas Clarkson, Alex Kendellen, Shayne Bolton, Jack Boyle and Gus McCarthy – in the squad as Training Panellists to increase their exposure to the National Team environment.
Peter O’Mahony is included in the extended panel and will continue his rehabilitation with Munster next week as he builds towards a return to action over the coming weeks.
The Ireland squad will assemble at the IRFU High Performance Centre on Monday before departing for a warm-weather training camp in Portugal.
“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,” said Farrell.
“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.”
“It is an enormous honour to be named Ireland captain and I am excited about leading the squad into battle over the coming weeks,” added Caelan Doris.
“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.”
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