Ireland call up Munster duo while Wales add prop ahead of Six Nations showdown

Ireland have added Munster pair Oli Jager and Thomas Ahern to their squad as the team prepares to tackle Wales in the Six Nations at the Aviva Stadium this weekend.

The in-form defending champions re-assembled on Sunday evening ahead of the 2024 Championship’s return for Round Three, which is set to kick off in Dublin on Saturday.

Tighthead prop Jager has joined the Ireland squad, while versatile forward Ahern will also train with Andy Farrell’s outfit at the IRFU High-Performance Centre this week.

Iain Henderson blow

Ahern’s inclusion comes after Iain Henderson sustained a foot injury in Ulster’s defeat to Ospreys on Sunday. There will be a further update on Henderson later in the week.

Farrell will announce his team to face Wales on Thursday at 2 pm, and he is likely to revert back to the majority of the starting XV that ran out in Round One against France.

The head coach made six changes from that Paris starting team for the clash with Italy, with Tadhg Furlong, Tadhg Beirne, Peter O’Mahony, Josh van der Flier, Jamison Gibson-Park and Bundee Aki either being rested or benched as Finlay Bealham, James Ryan, Ryan Baird, Jack Conan, Craig Casey and Stuart McCloskey started the Dublin fixture.

All six players are expected to come back into the starting line-up as Ireland look to make it three wins out of three before the second fallow week of the Six Nations.

Iain Henderson injured as Ulster suffer dramatic defeat to the Ospreys

In contrast, Wales have suffered back-to-back losses after narrowly falling to Scotland and England in their two opening games, with some pundits fearing for them in Dublin.

Wales update

Legendary duo Shane Williams and Tom Shanklin have both expressed their concerns for Wales this week as they were full of praise for the Irish and their coaching group.

In squad news, Wales head coach Warren Gatland has called up 23-year-old Scarlets tighthead prop Harri O’Connor as they prepare for their match at the Aviva Stadium.

O’Connor came on as a replacement during a non-cap meeting between Wales and the Barbarians in Cardiff last November, but he’s yet to feature at Test level for his country.

He comes in after Bath prop Archie Griffin recently withdrew from the squad following a knee injury he suffered on his Wales debut against England at Twickenham Stadium.

O’Connor, who played against Munster in the URC last Friday, becomes the second prop to join the squad after experienced Harlequins tighthead Dillon Lewis earlier this month.

Ireland squad ahead of Six Nations clash with Wales

Backs: Bundee Aki, Harry Byrne, Craig Casey, Jack Crowley, Ciaran Frawley, Jamison Gibson-Park, Robbie Henshaw, Hugo Keenan, Jordan Larmour, James Lowe, Stuart McCloskey, Conor Murray, Calvin Nash, Garry Ringrose, Jacob Stockdale

Forwards: Thomas Ahern, Ryan Baird, Finlay Bealham, Tadhg Beirne, Jack Conan, Caelan Doris, Tadhg Furlong, Cian Healy, Iain Henderson, Oli Jager, Ronan Kelleher, Jeremy Loughman, Joe McCarthy, Peter O’Mahony (c), Tom O’Toole, Andrew Porter, James Ryan, Dan Sheehan, Tom Stewart, Nick Timoney, Josh van der Flier

READ MORE: Ireland great thinks Andy Farrell’s men are ‘playing a different sport’ to other Six Nations sides