HEAD Coach Andy Farrell has named the Ireland Match Day Squad to face South Africa in Saturday’s first Test at Loftus Versfeld Stadium, 4pm Irish time, live on Sky Sports Arena.
Munster's Peter O’Mahony will captain the team as Ireland get their Summer Tour underway against the Springboks in Pretoria, while Leinster’s Jamie Osborne will win his debut cap as he’s named to start at full-back.
Osborne is joined in the Ireland back three by Limerick man Calvin Nash and James Lowe, as Bundee Aki and Robbie Henshaw start in the midfield.
There is an all-Munster half-back pairing as Craig Casey and Jack Crowley are named at scrum-half and out-half respectively.
In the pack, Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan and Tadhg Furlong start in the front row, with Joe McCarthy partnering Tadhg Beirne in the engine room. Captain O’Mahony is at blindslide flanker, with Josh van der Flier at openside and Caelan Doris at number eight.
Farrell has strong options on the bench, with Rónan Kelleher, Cian Healy, Finlay Bealham, James Ryan and Ryan Baird providing the forward reinforcements, with Conor Murray, Ciaran Frawley and Garry Ringrose completing the Ireland Match Day 23.
Ireland (v South Africa):
Player/Club/Province/Caps
15. Jamie Osborne (Naas/Leinster)*
14. Calvin Nash (Young Munster/Munster)(6)
13. Robbie Henshaw (Buccaneers/Leinster)(72)
12. Bundee Aki (Galwegians/Connacht)(56)
11. James Lowe (Leinster)(31)
10. Jack Crowley (Cork Constitution/Munster)(14)
9. Craig Casey (Shannon/Munster)(14)
1. Andrew Porter (UCD/Leinster)(64)
2. Dan Sheehan (Lansdowne/Leinster)(26)
3. Tadhg Furlong (Clontarf/Leinster)(76)
4. Joe McCarthy (Dublin University/Leinster)(10)
5. Tadhg Beirne (Lansdowne/Munster)(50)
6. Peter O’Mahony (Cork Constitution/Munster)(captain)(105)
7. Josh van der Flier (UCD/Leinster)(62)
8. Caelan Doris (St Mary’s College/Leinster)(41)
Replacements:
16. Ronan Kelleher (Lansdowne/Leinster)(31)
17. Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster)(129)
18. Finlay Bealham (Buccaneers/Connacht)(40)
19. James Ryan (UCD/Leinster)(62)
20. Ryan Baird (Dublin University/Leinster)(20)
21. Conor Murray (Garryowen/Munster)(116)
22. Ciaran Frawley (UCD/Leinster)(4)
23. Garry Ringrose (UCD/Leinster)(58).
*Denotes uncapped
