Ireland 'A' name 29-man squad for England encounter
Max Deegan will captain Ireland 'A'
- Published
Leinster's Max Deegan will captain Ireland 'A' against England 'A' at Ashton Gate in Bristol on 23 February (13:00 GMT).
Back row Deegan is one of six players - alongside forwards Fineen Wycherley, Oli Jager, Tom O'Toole and backs Harry Byrne and Shane Daly - to have been capped at Test level by Ireland.
The squad also includes 12 players who were part of the Emerging Ireland tour to South Africa in September, including Ulster's Zac Ward and Jude Postlethwaite.
The 29-man panel is made up of 11 Leinster players, eight from Munster, seven from Connacht and three from Ulster.
"I am hugely excited to work with such a talented group of players and coaches and we're all looking forward to the opportunity to represent our country in Bristol this weekend," said Ireland 'A' head coach Mike Prendergast.
"It is an experienced group with a number of capped senior internationals named alongside players who have featured for Emerging Ireland and for their provinces in recent months."
Munster coach Prendergast added: "The standard, whenever you pull on an Ireland jersey, is to perform to the best of your ability and we believe that we have a good blend of talented players who will look to take this opportunity to impress the national and provincial coaches.
"Sunday's game presents a huge opportunity against what will be a well-drilled England side who boast a lot of Premiership experience in their ranks. It is a task that we will approach with a positive frame of mind."
Ireland 'A' squad
(Club/province/Test caps)
Forwards (16): Jack Aungier (Clontarf FC/Connacht), Diarmuid Barron (Garryowen/Munster), James Culhane (UCD RFC/Leinster), Max Deegan (Lansdowne/Leinster) (captain) (2), Brian Gleeson (Garryowen FC/Munster), Oli Jager (Munster) (1), Sean Jansen (Connacht), Alex Kendellen (UCC RFC/Munster), Paddy McCarthy (Dublin University FC/Leinster), Darragh Murray (Buccaneers RFC/Connacht), Evan O'Connell (UL Bohemian RFC/Munster), Conor O'Tighearnaigh (UCD RFC/Leinster), Tom O'Toole (Ballynahinch/Ulster) (16), Stephen Smyth (Old Wesley RFC/Leinster), Alex Soroka (Clontarf FC/Leinster), Fineen Wycherley (Young Munster/Munster) (1).
Backs (13): Shayne Bolton (Connacht), Harry Byrne (UCD/Leinster) (4), Hugh Cooney (Clontarf/Leinster), Shane Daly (Cork Constitution/Munster) (2), Cathal Forde (Corinthians/Connacht), Hugh Gavin (Galwegians RFC/Connacht), Fintan Gunne (Terenure College RFC/Leinster), Ben Murphy (Clontarf/Connacht), Ben O'Connor (UCC RFC/Munster), Tommy O'Brien (UCD RFC/Leinster), Andrew Osborne (Naas RFC/Leinster), Jude Postlethwaite (City of Armagh RFC/Ulster), Zac Ward (Ballynahinch RFC/Ulster).
Ireland 'A' management team
Mike Prendergast (head coach/attack coach), Jimmy Duffy (forwards), Sean O'Brien (defence), Mark Sexton (backs/assistant attack coach), Colm Tucker (scrum/breakdown).