Ireland rugby squad named for 2021 Six Nations
The Ireland squad for the upcoming 2021 Guinness Six Nations Championship has been named.
Jonathan Sexton captains the 36-man squad for a second Six Nations campaign and there are two uncapped players named in the squad - Munster’s Craig Casey and Ulster’s Tom O’Toole.
There are two Buccaneers players in the squad, with Athlone's Robbie Henshaw named among the backs as expected, while Ballina native Dave Heffernan is selected among the forwards.
However, there is no place for Athlone native Jack Carty in the squad despite his impressive form for Connacht in recent weeks.
Ireland have just two fixtures at the Aviva Stadium in the 2021 Six Nations, hosting France in Round 2 and England on the final weekend of the Championship.
In Round 1 Ireland will take on Wayne Pivac’s Wales at the Principality Stadium. Ireland’s first two fixtures against Wales and France will both take place on Sunday afternoons.
Ireland’s third round fixture is at the Stadio Olimpico against Italy and in the penultimate round they will face Scotland at Murrayfield.
Ireland head coach Andy Farrell said: "Since the autumn international window the club season has had a good few disruptions, and the cancellation of the European fixtures means there have been less opportunities for players to show form or to return from injury and get some minutes under their belts.
"Tadhg (Furlong) hasn’t played in quite a while but he is ready to join the group. Unfortunately Jacob (Stockdale) will not be available to us."
Ireland Squad 2021 Six Nations Championship
Backs (17)
Bundee Aki (Connacht/Galwegians) 30 caps
Billy Burns (Ulster) 3 caps
Ross Byrne (Leinster/UCD) 11 caps
Craig Casey (Munster/Shannon) uncapped
Andrew Conway (Munster/Garryowen) 24 caps
Shane Daly (Munster/Cork Con) 1 cap
Keith Earls (Munster/Young Munster) 88 caps
Chris Farrell (Munster/Young Munster) 14 caps
Jamison Gibson Park (Leinster) 5 caps
Robbie Henshaw (Leinster/Buccaneers) 47 caps
Hugo Keenan (Leinster/UCD) 6 caps
Jordan Larmour (Leinster/St Mary’s College) 24 caps
James Lowe (Leinster) 2 caps
Stuart McCloskey (Ulster/Bangor) 4 caps
Conor Murray (Munster/Garryowen) 87 caps
Garry Ringrose (Leinster/UCD) 30 caps
Jonathan Sexton (Leinster/St Mary’s College) 95 caps (captain)
Forwards (19)
Tadhg Beirne (Munster/Lansdowne) 17 caps
Will Connors (Leinster/UCD) 5 caps
Caelan Doris (Leinster/St Mary’s College) 7 caps
Ultan Dillane (Connacht/Corinthians) 17 caps
Tadhg Furlong (Leinster/Clontarf) 25 caps
Cian Healy (Leinster/Clontarf) 104 caps
Dave Heffernan (Connacht/Buccaneers) 5 caps
Iain Henderson (Ulster/Academy) 58 caps
Rob Herring (Ulster/Ballynahinch) 16 caps
Ronan Kelleher (Leinster/Lansdowne) 6 caps
Dave Kilcoyne (Munster/UL Bohemians) 39 caps
Peter O’Mahony (Munster/Cork Constitution) 73 caps
Tom O’Toole (Ulster/Banbridge) uncapped
Andrew Porter (Leinster/UCD) 32 caps
Quinn Roux (Connacht/Galwegians) 16 caps
Rhys Ruddock (Leinster/St Mary’s College) 26 caps
James Ryan (Leinster/UCD) 32 caps
CJ Stander (Munster/Shannon) 46 caps
Josh van der Flier (Leinster/UCD) 28 caps
Ireland's Six Nations Fixtures
*Wales v Ireland, Principality Stadium, Cardiff (Sunday, February 7), KO 3pm (Virgin Media / BBC)
*Ireland v France, Aviva Stadium, Dublin (Sunday, February 14), 3pm (Virgin Media / ITV)
*Italy v Ireland, Stadio Olimpico, Rome (Saturday, February 27), 2.15pm (Virgin Media / ITV)
*Scotland v Ireland, BT Murrayfield, Edinburgh (Sunday, March 14), 3pm (Virgin Media / BBC)
*Ireland v England, Aviva Stadium (Saturday, March 20) 4.45pm (Virgin Media / ITV).