Stuart Olding among six uncapped players in Ireland squad
- Published
Ulster back Stuart Olding is among six uncapped players in an Ireland squad for next month's North American tour that will be captained by Rory Best.
The other uncapped selections are Jamie Hagan, Robbie Henshaw, Kieran Marmion, Tommy O'Donnell and Mike Sherry.
Ulster backs Darren Cave, Paddy Jackson, Paul Marshall and Andrew Trimble are named in the 28-man squad.
Their Ravenhill team-mates Tom Court, Declan Fitzpatrick, Iain Henderson, Chris Henry and Dan Tuohy also tour.
Full-back Henshaw, 19, plays alongside 21-year-old scrum-half Marmion at Connacht while back rower O'Donnell, 25, and hooker Sherry, 24, are both at Munster. Prop Hagan, 26, represents Leinster.
Craig Gilroy is a notable absentee, with the Ireland management saying that a decision was made to "rest" the Ulster wing from the tour.
Gilroy, 22, has been troubled by a lingering groin injury over the last couple of months.
Les Kiss, formerly part of Declan Kidney's backroom team, will be head coach on the tour although Joe Schmidt will also travel with the squad before he takes up the Ireland job later in the summer.
Speaking at Sunday's squads announcements, Australian Kiss revealed that he has agreed to become part of Schmidt's backroom team after the Leinster coach steps into the Ireland role.
Best, after missing out on a place in the Lions squad, will captain the Irish, a role the 30-year-old also fulfilled on the 2009 summer tour.
Hagan's inclusion means that the 26-year-old's Leinster team-mate Michael Bent, 27, has to be content with a place in the Emerging Ireland squad which will play in the Tbilisi Cup in Georgia.
Munster's Ian Keatley, 26, will also be there, with Jackson, 21, and 24-year-old Ian Madigan the fly-halves selected for the trip to North America.
Leinster flanker Kevin McLaughlin, 28, will also make the senior tour with his club-mate Rhys Ruddock, 22, named in the Tbilisi Cup squad.
With Best and Richardt Strauss, 27, named as hookers for the North American tour, Sean Cronin, 26, is named in the Emerging party.
Stephen Ferris, Eoin Reddan, Luke Fitzgerald, Gordon D'Arcy, Luke Marshall, David McSharry, Keith Earls, and Stephen Archer were all unavailable because of injury while Donnacha Ryan is also being rested following recent injury problems.
Ulster players Robbie Diack, Michael Allen, Michael Heaney, Rob Herring, Ricky Lutton and Lewis Stevenson are included in the Emerging Ireland panel.
After announcing the Ireland squads on Sunday morning, Kiss said that both tours would be "hugely important in the contest are providing game exposure, building depth and gaining experience in the Irish jersey".
Ireland will face the USA in Houston on 8 June before the game against Canada in Toronto seven days later.
Ireland squad for North American Tour
Rory Best (Ulster), Isaac Boss (Leinster), Darren Cave (Ulster), Tom Court (Ulster), Declan Fitzpatrick (Ulster), Jamie Hagan (Leinster), Iain Henderson (Ulster), Chris Henry (Ulster), Robbie Henshaw (Connacht), Paddy Jackson (Ulster), Felix Jones (Munster), David Kilcoyne (Munster), Ian Madigan (Leinster), Kieran Marmion (Connacht), Paul Marshall (Ulster), Mike McCarthy (Connacht), Fergus McFadden (Leinster), Kevin McLaughlin (Leinster), Tommy O'Donnell (Munster), Stuart Olding (Ulster), Peter O'Mahony (Munster), Mike Ross (Leinster), Mike Sherry (Munster), Richardt Strauss (Leinster), Devin Toner (Leinster), Andrew Trimble (Ulster), Dan Tuohy (Ulster), Simon Zebo (Munster).
Emerging Ireland squad
Michael Allen (Ulster), Michael Bent (Leinster), Andrew Conway (Leinster), John Cooney (Leinster), Sean Cronin (Leinster), David Foley (Munster), Eoin Griffin (Connacht), Cathal Marsh (unattached), Michael Heaney (Ulster), Rob Herring (Ulster), Dave Kearney (Leinster), Ian Keatley (Munster), Ricky Lutton (Ulster), Brendan Macken (Leinster), Jack McGrath (Leinster), Eoin McKeon (Connacht), Martin Moore (Leicester), Jordi Murphy (Leinster), Ian Nagle (Munster), Robbie Diack (Ulster), Tiernan O'Halloran (Connacht), Rhys Ruddock (Leinster), Dominic Ryan (Leinster), John Ryan (Munster), Lewis Stevenson (Ulster).
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