Breaking First Ireland Six Nations squad under Simon Easterby along expected lines

Interim Ireland head coach Simon Easterby has named his squad for the Guinness Six Nations with just one uncapped player, Leinster's Jack Boyle, included.

With Andy Farrell on a Lions sabbatical until the end of summer, Easterby wasn’t expected to spring any major surprises for Ireland’s Six Nations defence.

Leinster number 8 Caelan Doris continues as captain in the 36-man squad, while injured duo Dan Sheehan and James Lowe are expected to link up with the squad in their training camp in Portugal on Sunday week.

Hugh Cooney of Leinster, Ulster back row James McNabney and Connacht duo Ben Murphy and Cathal Forde have been included as development players.

Easterby said: "The Guinness Six Nations is one of the most keenly contested competitions in the global calendar and there’s great excitement across the playing group and coaching team for this year’s tournament.

"Personally, I’m hugely excited to work with a talented group and speaking to the players you can sense that they are up for the challenge.

"One of the highlights from the recent Autumn Nations Series was the emergence of a number of new internationals in Thomas Clarkson, Cormac Izuchukwu, Gus McCarthy and Sam Prendergast.

"We are also delighted to welcome back a number of players who were unavailable for the recent Autumn Nations Series and their return will further boost competition levels across the panel."

Ireland open their campaign against England at Aviva Stadium on Saturday, 1 February (4.45pm), before travelling to Edinburgh to face Scotland in Round 2 on Sunday, 9 February (3pm).

After a break week, Easterby's side are in Cardiff to go head-to-head with Wales at the Principality Stadium on Saturday, 22 February (2.15pm), followed by a showdown against France at