Eight uncapped players in Ireland squad for tour of USA and Japan

Ulster second row Kieran Treadwell is among the uncapped players to tour with Ireland

Ireland coach Joe Schmidt has included eight uncapped players in his squad for the three-Test tour of the USA and Japan next month.

John Cooney, Dave Heffernan, Rory O'Loughlin, Andrew Porter, James Ryan, Rory Scannell, Jacob Stockdale and Kieran Treadwell have been called up.

Schmidt is without 11 players set to tour with the British and Irish Lions.

Injured trio Jamie Heaslip, Rob Kearney and Sean Cronin all miss out along with Andrew Trimble and Donnacha Ryan.

Munster lock Ryan, 33, was not offered a new IRFU international contract for next season and then opted to sign for Racing 92, which could mean that he has played his last game for Ireland.

Ulster quartet miss out

Trimble wore a hand protection during the closing weeks of the Pro12 season while his fellow Ulster wing Craig Gilroy also misses out despite scoring three tries after coming on as a substitute in the Six Nations win over Italy.

Other absentees include Ulster duo Sean Reidy and Stuart McCloskey plus Connacht pair Ultan Dillane and Quinn Roux.

Ireland face the US Eagles in New Jersey on 10 June before Tests against Japan on 17 and 24 June.

The Ecopa Stadium in Shizuoka will host the first Test against Japan, who will be in Ireland's pool at the 2019 World Cup, before the tour concludes at the Ajinomoto Stadium in Tokyo.

Joe Schmidt will add one more player to the squad after this weekend's Pro12 semi-finals

Schmidt going with youth

"With 11 players scheduled to tour with the British and Irish Lions, plus a number of injuries to experienced internationals, the summer tour squad includes plenty of youth," said Schmidt, who named a 31-player panel.

"There is a real freshness to the group, including the coaching staff, so we're looking forward to what will be a very challenging summer tour.

"We have retained a sprinkling of experienced players, some of whom may yet be called up to the Lions, but the focus is really on challenging the younger players to cope with the heat and foreign conditions as well as the speed and physicality of Test rugby."

One further player will be added to the squad following this weekend's Pro12 semi-finals.

The tour will also see three Irish coaches spend time with the national team.

Racing 92's assistant coach Ronan O'Gara will accompany Ireland for the New Jersey leg of the tour, with Leinster's Girvan Dempsey replacing him for the first week in Japan, before Munster's Felix Jones comes in to work with the team for the final week in Tokyo.

Ireland squad:

Forwards: Finlay Bealham (Connacht), Jack Conan (Leinster), Cian Healy (Leinster), Dave Heffernan (Connacht), David Kilcoyne (Munster), Dan Leavy (Leinster), Tommy O'Donnell (Munster), Jack O'Donoghue (Munster), Andrew Porter (Leinster), Rhys Ruddock (Leinster), James Ryan (Leinster), John Ryan (Munster), Niall Scannell (Munster), Devin Toner (Leinster), James Tracy (Leinster), Kieran Treadwell (Ulster), Josh van der Flier (Leinster).

Backs: Joey Carbery (Leinster), Andrew Conway (Munster), John Cooney (Connacht), Keith Earls (Munster), Paddy Jackson (Ulster), Kieran Marmion (Connacht), Luke Marshall (Ulster), Luke McGrath (Leinster), Tiernan O'Halloran (Connacht), Rory O'Loughlin (Leinster), Garry Ringrose (Leinster), Rory Scannell (Munster), Jacob Stockdale (Ulster), Simon Zebo (Munster).