6 Munster Players In Emerging Ireland Squad

Academy player Rory Scannell is one of six Munster players included in this year’s Emerging Ireland 27-man squad for the World Rugby Tbilisi Cup in June.

Scannell will join senior colleagues Stephen Archer, Andrew Conway, James Cronin, Billy Holland and JJ Hanrahan in making the trip to Georgia where the Ireland side will face Emerging Italy, Uruguay and the host nation.

Ulster forwards coach Allen Clarke and Leinster's Academy Manager Girvan Dempsey take charge of the squad, while Munster’s Senior Strength & Conditioning Coach Aidan O’Connell will join the backroom staff as S&C Coach.

Emerging Ireland Coach, Allen Clarke commented, “This competition gives us the opportunity to develop some of the emerging talent from the four provinces with the support of some experienced players in a very challenging tournament format. It’s a great opportunity to see how these players react and perform faced with the challenge of a short preparation.”

Ireland Head Coach Joe Schmidt said, “There are some exciting prospects in this Emerging Ireland squad and the Tbilisi Cup is an ideal challenge for them, especially as both Georgia and Uruguay will be using this tournament to springboard their Rugby World Cup campaigns.”

Emerging Ireland will face off against Emerging Italy in their opening game of the tournament on Saturday 13th June. Four days later they take on Uruguay with their final game coming against the host nation Georgia on Sunday 21st June. Both Uruguay and Georgia will compete in this year’s Rugby World Cup in England.

Emerging Ireland Squad:

Stephen Archer (Cork Constitution/Munster)
Finlay Bealham (Corinthians/Connacht)
Denis Buckley (Corinthians/Connacht)
Andrew Conway (Garryowen/Munster)
John Cooney (Terenure/Connacht)
James Cronin (Dolphin/Munster)
Eoin Griffin (London Irish)
JJ Hanrahan (UL Bohemians/Munster)
Matt Healy (Lansdowne/Connacht)
Dave Heffernan (Buccaneers/Connacht)
Rob Herring (Ballynahinch/Ulster)
Billy Holland (Cork Constitution/Munster)
Cian Kelleher (Lansdowne/Leinster)
Dan Leavy (UCD/Leinster)
Ben Marshall (Old Belvedere/Leinster)
Eoghan Masterson (Corinthians/Connacht)
Stuart McCloskey (Ballynahinch/Ulster)
Luke McGrath (UCD/Leinster)
Eoin McKeon (Corinthians/Connacht)
Peter Nelson (Malone/Ulster)
Tiernan O’Halloran (Buccaneers/Connacht)
Noel Reid (Clontarf/Leinster)
Rhys Ruddock (St Mary’s College/Leinster)
Rory Scannell (Dolphin/Munster)
Lewis Stevenson (Malone/Ulster)
Frank Taggart (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster)
Andy Warwick (Ballymena/Ulster)

Emerging Ireland Team Management:

Allen Clarke – Coach
Girvan Dempsey – Assistant Coach
Joey Miles – Manager
Jim McShane – Team Doctor
Karl Denvir – Physio
Sean Mannion – Team Analyst
Aidan O’Connell – S&C Coach
Johnny O’Hagan – Baggage Man
Carmel O’Dwyer – Squad Coordinator

Emerging Ireland Fixtures:

Emerging Italy v EMERGING IRELAND
Saturday 13th June 17:00 (14:00 GMT)

Uruguay v EMERGING IRELAND
Wednesday 17th June 17:00 (14:00 GMT)

Georgia v EMERGING IRELAND
Sunday 21st June 19:00 (16:00 GMT)