The sense of anticipation felt by Ireland supporters about the start of the inaugural Nations Championship ramped up a degree or two on Wednesday when head coach Andy Farrellnamed his 36-man squad for the three matches his side will play in July.
Farrell’s selection for the games against Australia, Japan and New Zealand features three players who have yet to win their first caps – and all three are Connacht forwards.
Props Billy Bohan and Sam Illo, along with back row Sean Jansen, are part of the group which will travel to Sydney on Monday to begin their preparation for the three Test matches in the southern hemisphere.
The call-ups reflect the excellent form shown by Connacht in the latter half of the season particularly, as a run of positive results by Stuart Lancaster’s team moved them into eighth in the United Rugby Championship table, and thereby progressing to the end-of-season play-offs and qualifying for next season’s Champions Cup.
In total, six Connacht players have been named with Darragh Murray, Cian Prendergast and Bundee Aki also chosen.
The inclusion of front-rowers Illo and Bohan owes much to the unavailability of injured Leinster props Andrew Porter, Jack Boyle and Paddy McCarthy, but both will be keen to make the most of the opportunity.
With the opening fixture with the Wallabies in Sydney on 4 July, BBC Sport NI takes a closer look at the credentials of the uncapped trio in the Ireland squad.
