Ulster duo Paul Marshall and Craig Gilroy are among six players called into the Ireland squad for the training camp in Kildare.
Marshall replaces injured Eoin Reddan (leg) with Gilroy taking over from Munster’s Simon Zebo (ankle).
Scrumhalf Marshall was included on the Irish squad which toured New Zealand in the summer.
Winger Gilroy was left off that panel, in spite of strong claims he should have been on the plane. Ironically, it was Zebo who got the nod ahead of him.
Meanwhile, Gordon D’Arcy’s absence because of rib damage means uncapped Munster centre James Downey will join the squad.
Ronan O’Gara (dead leg) is replaced by Ian Madigan with Ronan Loughney in for Ulster prop Declan Fitzpatrick.
Fitzpatrick is continuing rehab on a knee injury while Loughney’s Connacht team-mate Mike McCarthy will miss the get-together because of a calf strain and is replaced by Leinster’s Devin Toner.
Uncapped Ulster duo Iain Henderson and Luke Marshall were among the notable inclusions in the original 33-strong squad announced for the camp ahead of the Guinness internationals in November.
Ireland face South Africa at the Aviva Stadium on 10 November before taking on Argentina on November 24, with a game also at Thomond Park against Fiji.
That game in Limerick is likely to feature many of the periphery and up coming players as Ireland hopefully look to build towards next year’s Six Nations Championship and the World Cup in 2015.
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