Ireland: Michael Lowry and Mack Hansen make squad for Six Nations

Planet Rugby

Ireland have named the uncapped Michael Lowry and Mack Hansen in a 37-man squad that will be captained by Johnny Sexton for the Six Nations Championship.

Sexton, who earned his 100th cap for his country against Japan during the Autumn Nations Series, leads a strong group as they look for silverware.

Ireland will play host to Wales, Italy and Scotland at the Aviva Stadium over the course of the Championship while also travelling to Paris and London to face France and England respectively.

Two uncapped players

There are two uncapped players named in the extended squad – Ulster’s Lowry and Connacht’s Hansen. Both have trained with the national squad in the past few months, Lowry during the mid-year series in July and Hansen during the Autumn Nations Series in November.

Connacht’s Cian Prendergast will join the squad for the training camp in Portugal as a Development Player. The former Ireland U20 player has made nine appearances for Connacht this season.

“In November we challenged the group to get up to speed quickly so that the team could perform at international level. The same will apply for this Six Nations campaign, we need to be at our best against Wales on the opening weekend,” said Farrell.

“We have a strong squad with competition for places across the board, there is a nice blend of experienced internationals and guys who have had their first taste of this level in the past 12 months. The games in November gave us a good foundation to build on and areas where we know we will have to improve.

“It will be an exciting Championship with so many strong squads and impressive performances across the board during the Autumn.”

Ireland’s opening fixture of the 2022 Six Nations Championship is against Wales on Saturday, February 5. A week later, the squad will travel to France to take on Les Bleus in Paris. In Round 3, on Sunday, February 27, Ireland host Italy at the Aviva Stadium and then travel to Twickenham to take on England two weeks later.

In the final round of the Championship, Ireland host Scotland at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday, March 19.

Ireland’s squad for the Six Nations

Backs: Bundee Aki, Robert Baloucoune, Joey Carbery, Jack Carty, Craig Casey, Andrew Conway, Keith Earls, Jamison Gibson-Park, Mack Hansen, Robbie Henshaw, James Hume, Hugo Keenan, Jordan Larmour, Michael Lowry, Conor Murray, Garry Ringrose, Johnny Sexton (c)

Forwards: Ryan Baird, Finlay Bealham, Tadhg Beirne, Jack Conan, Gavin Coombes, Caelan Doris, Tadhg Furlong, Cian Healy, Iain Henderson, Rob Herring, Ronan Kelleher, Dave Kilcoyne, Peter O’Mahony, Tom O’Toole, Andrew Porter, James Ryan, Dan Sheehan, Nick Timoney, Kieran Treadwell, Josh van der Flier

Development Player
Cian Prendergast (Connacht)