Ireland Head Coach Andy Farrell has today named a 42-player Summer Training Squad to begin preparations for the Bank of Ireland Nations Series and Rugby World Cup 2023.
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Following the conclusion of the BKT United Rugby Championship and Heineken Champions Cup campaigns, the Ireland Coaching Team have selected an extended panel of players to assemble at the IRFU High Performance Centre on 18th June for the first block of pre-season.
Commenting on the squad announcement, Farrell said: “It is exciting to announce our extended training squad for the first phase of Rugby World Cup preparations, and we’re looking forward to assembling in Dublin next month to hit the ground running as a group.
One fan wrote: "Saw the All Blacks B squad was named today,"
The hostility between the two groups of fans originated last summer when Ireland achieved a clean sweep victory over New Zealand on their home soil.
ow, let's examine the squads of Ireland, Italy, Scotland, and Wales, focusing on the players who were born outside their respective countries.
So far, a staggering total of 52 players have switched nationalities.
FOREIGN BORN PLAYERS IN IRELAND SQUAD: EIGHT PLAYERS
Rob Herring, hooker, South Africa
Finlay Bealham, prop, Australia
Joe McCarthy, lock, USA
Kieran Treadwell, lock, England
Jamison Gibson-Park, scrum-half, New Zealand
Bundee Aki, centre, New Zealand
Bundee Aki of Ireland watching the on going scrum during the Six Nations Championship match between England and Ireland at Twickenham Stadium, Twickenham, London on the 12th March 2022 - PHOTO: George Tewkesbury/PPAUK
Mack Hansen, winger, Australia
James Lowe, winger, New Zealand
FOREIGN BORN PLAYERS IN SCOTLAND SQUAD: 17 PLAYERS
The 41-plaayer group will be led by captain Jamie Ritchie and will be trimmed to the requisite 33-player list ahead of the tournament itself, which gets underway in France in September.
They will initially gather for an initial training camp on 29 May to begin preparations for warm-up matches in the Famous Grouse Nations Series against France, Italy and Georgia at BT Murrayfield in July and August. Scotland also play France in an away warm-up in St. Etienne in August.
The Rugby World Cup itself will see Scotland compete in Pool B alongside South Africa, Ireland, Tonga and Romania, with a first fixture against the world champion Springboks on Sunday 10 September in Marseille.
Some fans have mocked the squad, with one saying "That's more like a Barbarians squad than a Scotland squad," another stating "Nice to see some Scots in there for once," and a third jokingly saying "I'm backing South Africa B to do well at the World Cup."
Ewan Ashman, hooker, Canada
WP Nel, prop, South Africa
Pierre Schoeman, prop, South Africa
Marcus Smith of England on the break looks to hand off Pierre Schoeman of Scotland during the Six Nations Championship, Calcutta Cup match between England and Scotland at Twickenham Stadium, Twickenham, London on February 4th 2023. - PHOTO: Phil Mingo/PPAUK
Javan Sebastian, prop, Wales
Cameron Henderson, lock, Hong Kong
Sam Skinner, lock, England
Andy Christie, back-row, England
Jack Dempsey, back-row, Australia
Hamish Watson, back-row, England
Ali Price, scrum-half, England
Ali Price of Glasgow Warriors during the Heineken Champions Cup Round 1 Pool B match between Exeter Chiefs and Glasgow Warriors at Sandy Park, Exeter, Devon on 13 Dec 2020. Photo: Phil Mingo/PPAUK.
Ben White, scrum-half, England
Ben Healy, fly-half, Ireland
Chris Harris, centre, England
Cameron Redpath, centre, France
Sione Tuipulotu, centre, Australia
Kyle Steyn, winger, South Africa
Duhan van der Merwe, winger, South Africa
Duhan van der Merwe of Scotland slips the tackle from Maro Itoje of England Rugby during the Six Nations Championship, 127th Calcutta Cup match between England and Scotland at Twickenham Stadium, Twickenham, London on January 6 2021. - PHOTO: Phil Mingo/PPAUK
FOREIGN BORN PLAYERS IN ITALY SQUAD: 13 PLAYERS
Hame Faiva, hooker, New Zealand
Marco Manfredi, hooker, Germany
Ivan Nemer, prop, Argentina
Dino Lamb, lock, England
Dave Sisi, lock, Germany
Toa Halafihi, flanker, New Zealand
Sebastien Negri, flanker, Zimbabwe
Martin Page-Relo, scrum-half, France
Stephen Varney, scrum-half, Wales
Ignacio Brex, centre, Argentina
Monty Ioane, wing, Australia
Paolo Odogwu, wing, England
Ange Capuozzo, fullback, France
Ange Capuozzo of Italy during the Six Nations Match between England and Italy at Twickenham, London on 12 Feb 2023 (Photo: Tom Sandberg/PPAUK)
FOREIGN BORN PLAYERS IN WALES SQUAD: 15 PLAYERS
Will Davies-King, prop, England
Tomas Francis, prop, England
Henry Thomas, prop, England
Ben Carter, lock, England
Will Rowlands, lock, England
Christ Tshiunza, lock, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Taulupe Faletau, number 8, Tonga
Dan Lydiate, flanker, England
Josh Macleod, flanker, Monaco
Gareth Anscombe, fly-half, New Zealand
Max Llewellyn, centre, England
George North, centre, England
Nick Tompkins, centre, England
Johnny Williams, centre, England
Alex Cuthbert, wing, England
George North of Wales on the break during the Guinness Six Nations Match between England and Wales at Twickenham Stadium, Twickenham, London on March 7 2020. - PHOTO: Cameron Geran/PPAUK
