Andy Farrell Jacob Stockdale Cian Prendergast James Hume Dave Kilcoyne Mike Lowry Craig Casey Jeremy Loughman Diarmuid Barron Calvin Nash Tom Otoole Nick Timoney Jack Crowley Hugo Keenan Jimmy Obrien Dave Heffernan Joe Maccarthy Jamie Osborne Ross Molony Max Deegan Gavin Coombes Ciarán Frawley South Africa Ireland county Ross county Moore county O'Brien Sport Rugby Andy Farrell Jacob Stockdale Cian Prendergast James Hume Dave Kilcoyne Mike Lowry Craig Casey Jeremy Loughman Diarmuid Barron Calvin Nash Tom Otoole Nick Timoney Jack Crowley Hugo Keenan Jimmy Obrien Dave Heffernan Joe Maccarthy Jamie Osborne Ross Molony Max Deegan Gavin Coombes Ciarán Frawley South Africa Ireland county Ross county Moore county O'Brien

Craig Casey to captain Ireland A v All Blacks XV

rte.ie

Munster's Craig Casey has been named captain of Ireland A for Friday night's meeting with an All Blacks XV at the RDS.The scrum-half will lead out an Irish selection containing seven uncapped players, including Ciáran Frawley who is named at out-half.Casey's selection would also indicate that Jamison Gibson-Park has been cleared to play in Saturday's Test against South Africa, while the inclusion of Mike Lowry at full-back also suggests Hugo Keenan is set to start against the Springboks.Jacob Stockdale is the most experienced Ireland international in the A side, joining Lowry and Leinster's Jimmy O'Brien in the back three, while James Hume and Jamie Osborne complete the backline, pairing up in the centre.The front row sees Dave Heffernan and Tom O'Toole join Munster's in-form loosehead Jeremy Loughman, while uncapped pair Gavin Thornbury and Joe McCarthy form the second row partnership.Munster's Gavin Coombes starts at number 8, with Cian Prendergast and Nick Timoney joining him in the back row as expected.Among those on the replacements bench are the uncapped Diarmuid Barron, Ross Molony, Jack Crowley and Calvin Nash, while Marty Moore makes his return to an Irish shirt for the first time since 2015.Ireland A: Mike Lowry; Jimmy O'Brien, Jamie Osborne, James Hume, Jacob Stockdale; Ciáran Frawley, Craig Casey (capt); Jeremy Loughman, Dave Heffernen, Tom O'Toole; Joe McCarthy, Gavin Thornbury; Cian Prendergast, Nick Timoney, Gavin Coombes.Replacements: Diarmuid Barron, Dave Kilcoyne, Marty Moore, Ross Molony, Max Deegan, Caolin Blade, Jack Crowley, Calvin Nash.Listen to the RTÉ Rugby podcast on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.Follow a live blog on Ireland v South Africa on RTÉ.ie/sport

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