Emerging Ireland to tour South Africa in October
Ulster's Nathan Doak and Stewart Moore were part of the Emerging Ireland squad in 2022
- Published
The Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) will send an Emerging Ireland squad to South Africa later this year for a three-match competition in Bloemfontein.
Ireland defence coach Simon Easterby has been named head coach for the tour, having also held that role in 2022.
Easterby, who is a candidate to lead Ireland's senior team in next year's Six Nations while head coach Andy Farrell focuses on British and Irish Lions duties, will be assisted by forwards Paul O'Connell, scrum coach John Fogarty and backs coach Andrew Goodman.
The Emerging Ireland squad will assemble at the IRFU High Performance Centre in Dublin on 25 September before travelling to South Africa three days later.
They will face the Pumas on 2 October and Western Force on 6 October before concluding the tour against the Cheetahs three days later, with Toyota Stadium hosting all three games.
The games will be played a month before the senior side face New Zealand, Argentina, Fiji and Australia in the autumn Tests.
The Emerging Ireland tour in 2022 proved a success for the IRFU with Jack Crowley, Calvin Nash and Joe McCarthy all making an impression in South Africa before graduating to Farrell's senior set-up.
'Important to broaden selection pool'
Farrell stressed this will again be a tour on which players can make significant strides.
He said: "This short three-match window will once again provide an opportunity for players within the system to come into a national team environment, work with the national team coaches and access meaningful game time in a green jersey.
"Ahead of a busy four-match Autumn Nations Series in November, it is important we continue to broaden our selection pool and ensure young players are given every opportunity to further develop and gain an understanding of what is required to perform for Ireland at the highest level."
Easterby said the 2022 tour was "of huge value", adding: "It will be a short preparation window leading into three tough matches, but that is part of the challenge for the whole group, building connections and getting up to speed to meet the demands of playing in a green jersey."
The Emerging Ireland squad will be announced in September.