Ireland's uncapped 13 - Ben Murphy
Ben Murphy switched the blue of Leinster for the green of Connacht last summer
- Published
With 16 players on British and Irish Lions duty this summer, interim Ireland head coach Paul O'Connell's 33-man squad for this summer's matches against Georgia and Portugal features 13 uncapped players. BBC Sport NI takes a closer look at those hoping to feature in green for the first time.
Ben Murphy has been promoted to the senior squad, having enjoyed previous experience training with the panel.
Having impressed in the early stages of the 2024-25 campaign, the number nine was selected by then interim Ireland coach Simon Easterby as one of four training panellists ahead of the Six Nations.
The 24-year-old scrum-half, son of Ulster coach Richie, has reaped the dividends of leaving Leinster last summer to earn more first-team action with Connacht.
He continued his fine form in the latter stages of the season, thereby booking a berth in Paul O'Connell's squad for the two summer Tests.
He played 16 games for the western province in the term just passed, scoring nine tries, including a hat-trick in the European Challenge Cup match against Lyon in January.