Cronin - one of six uncapped players named in Irish squad

LIMERICK hooker Sean Cronin is one of nine uncapped players included in Irish coach Declan Kidney’s 39-man squad for the upcoming autumn internationals.
Former Shannon and current Connacht hooker Cronin impressed for the Ireland ‘A’ side in their successful Churchill Cup campaign last summer and could well earn his first full international cap against Australia, Fiji or World Champions South Africa in November.
The Ireland squad will gather in Limerick on Monday next for a week-long training camp.
An ‘A’ squad for an international game with Tonga in Ravenhill on Friday, November 13 and a 30 man squad for the Australia test match at Croke Park two days later will be announced at the end of next week’s Limerick camp.
Ireland will also play full internationals against Fiji at the RDS on November 21 and South Africa at Croke Park on November 28 as well as an ‘A’ international against the Argentina Jaguars in Tallaght on November 27.
Thirteen Munster players have been named in the 39 man Irish squad. Leinster’s Limerick-born scrum-half Eoin Reddan is also included in the extended squad.

Ireland squad: Tommy Bowe (Ospreys); Neil Best (Northampton Saints); Tony Buckley (Shannon-Munster); Darren Cave (Belfast Harlequins-Ulster), Tom Court (Malone-Ulster), Sean Cronin (Buccaneers-Connacht)*, Leo Cullen (Blackrock College-Leinster), Gordon D’Arcy (Lansdowne-Leinster), Gavin Duffy (Galwegians-Connacht), Keith Earls (Young Munster-Munster), Stephen Ferris (Dungannon-Ulster), Luke Fitzgerald (Blackrock College-Leinster), Jerry Flannery (Shannon-Munster), John Fogarty (DLSP Palmerston-Leinster)*, John Hayes (Bruff-Munster), Cian Healy (Clontarf-Leinster)*, Jamie Heaslip (Naas-Leinster), Chris Henry (Ballymena-Ulster)*, Marcus Horan (Shannon-Munster), Shane Horgan (Boyne-Leinster), Robert Kearney (UCD-Leinster), Denis Leamy (Cork Constitution-Munster), Fergus McFadden (UCD-Leinster)*, Donncha O’Callaghan (Cork Constitution-Munster), Paul O’Connell (Young Munster-Munster), Brian O’Driscoll (UCD-Leinster), Ronan O’Gara (Cork Constitution-Munster), Tomas O’Leary (Dolphin-Munster), Sean O’Brien (Clontarf-Leinster)*, Eoin Reddan (Lansdowne-Leinster), Mike Ross (Clontarf-Leinster), Donnacha Ryan (Shannon-Munster), Jonathan Sexton (St.Mary’s College-Leinster)*, Peter Stringer (Shannon-Munster), Devin Toner (Lansdowne-Leinster), Andrew Trimble (Ballymena-Ulster), David Wallace (Garryowen-Munster), Paddy Wallace (Ballymena-Ulster), Brett Wilkinson (Galwegians-Connacht)*.
* - Denotes uncapped players.

Colm Kinsella