Ireland A Team to Face Canada

Ireland A, which is being led by the senior Ireland coaching staff this year which includes Declan Kidney, Alan Gaffney, Gert Smal and Les Kiss, open their tournament against Canada on Wednesday, a side that the senior Ireland team played only two weeks ago in Vancouver as part of their tour to North America.

Ulster scrumhalf Isaac Boss will captain the Ireland A team in its opening game of the Churchill Cup tournament which takes place in Denver, Colorado in the USA over the next two weeks.

Eleven players that took part in that senior tour have remained on for the Churchill Cup and nine of those players are involved the upcoming game against Canada.  In the pack, Bryan Young and Sean Cronin start at prop and hooker respectively with Tony Buckley, who played the full test match against Canada last month and scored a try, selected at tight head.

Donnacha Ryan and Devon Toner make up the second row partnership with Chris Henry, another member of the senior tour party selected at No.8.  Ireland A tour captain John Muldoon, after starting both test matches last month, is picked among the replacements with Neil Best and Sean O’Brien selected after helping both their club and provincial sides achieve European success. 

Niall O’Connor is handed his first start of the summer at out half to be partnered by captain of the day Isaac Boss, who is one of only two members in the backline to be capped, with full back Denis Hurley the other.

Ireland A v Canada (Infinity Park, Glendale, Colorado, Wednesday 10th June 2009)
1 – Bryan Young (Ballymena/Ulster)
2 – Sean Cronin (Buccaneers/Connacht)
3 – Tony Buckley (Shannon/Munster)
4 – Donnacha Ryan (Shannon/Munster)
5 – Devon Toner (Lansdowne/Leinster)
6 – Neil Best (Northampton Saints)
7 – Sean O’Brien (Clontarf/Leinster)
8 – Chris Henry (Ballymena/Ulster)
9 – Isaac Boss (Ballymena/Ulster) Captain
10 – Niall O’Connor (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster)
11 – Johne Murphy (Leicester)
12 – Keith Matthews (Buccaneers/Connacht)
13 – Fergus McFadden (UCD/Leinster)
14 – Fionn Carr (Galwegians/Connacht)
15 – Denis Hurley (Cork Constitution/Munster)

Replacements:
16 – Denis Fogarty (Cork Constitution/Munster)
17 – Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster)
18 – Trevor Hogan (Blackrock College/Leinster)
19 – John Muldoon (Buccanneers/Connacht)
20 – Frank Murphy (Buccaneers/Connacht)
21 – Jonathan Sexton (St.Mary’s College/Leinster)
22 – James Downey (Northampton Saints)

Ireland Churchill Cup Schedule:
Ireland A v Canada, Wednesday 10th June, 16.30hrs (local time), Infinity Park, Glendale, Colorado
Georgia v Ireland A, Sunday 14th June, 15.30hrs (local time) Infinity Park, Glendale, Colorado
Finals Day, Sunday 21st June, Dicks Sporting Goods park, Denver, Colorado