Ireland team manager Paul McNaughton has announced a squad of 20 players to face Scotland ‘A’ at Ravenhill on Friday night.

Vacancies have been left in the back row and at hooker pending the announcement tomorrow of the Ireland team to play Italy in the opening game of the RBS 6 Nations.

Denis Hurley and Johne Murphy see a return to fitness and to the squad. This leaves no room for Fionn Carr who was one of Ireland’s stand out players against the Saxons and in my opion should have been included in the side at the expense of Hurley.

Marcus Horans inclusion suggests lack of match practice is keeping him out of the Senior side. It will be interest to see how the Ireland senior scrum hold up without him against a very strong Italian pack. Healy will have his work cut out for him.

Full Team:

Isaac Boss (Ballymena/Ulster)
Nigel Brady (Dungannon/Ulster)
Tony Buckley (Shannon/Munster)
Ryan Caldwell (Dungannon/Ulster)
Darren Cave (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster)
Ian Dowling (Shannon/Munster)
Chris Henry (Ballymena/Ulster)
Marcus Horan (Shannon/Munster)
Ian Humphreys (Ballymena/Ulster)
Denis Hurley (Cork Constitution/Munster)
Shane Jennings (St. Mary’s College/Leinster)
Ian Keatley (Galwegians/Connacht)
Keith Matthews (Buccaneers/Connacht)
Fergus McFadden (Old Belvedere/Leinster)
Johne Murphy (Leicester Tigers)
Mick O’Driscoll (Cork Constitution/Munster)
Niall Ronan (Shannon/Munster)
Mike Ross (Clontarf/Leinster)
Peter Stringer (Shannon/Munster)
Devin Toner (Lansdowne/Leinster)

Tickets for Friday’s international clash in Belfast are available from the Ravenhill Ticket Office (Monday-Friday, 9am to 5pm), the Ticket Hotline (tel: 028 90 493 222, Option 2 (Monday-Friday, 10am-12pm)), SS Moores (6 Chichester Street, Belfast, tel: 028 90 322966) or by clicking here.