SIX NATIONS: Ulster's Stuart McCloskey one of four uncapped players in Ireland squad

Ulster centre Stuart McCloskey's impressive displays in the Guinness PRO12 and European Champions Cup has earned him a call-up to the Ireland 35-man squad for the opening two rounds of the RBS Six Nations Championship.
By The Newsroom
Published 20th Jan 2016, 14:57 BST
Updated 20th Jan 2016, 15:04 BST
Ulster's Stuart McCloskey has been included in the Ireland squadUlster's Stuart McCloskey has been included in the Ireland squad
Ulster's Stuart McCloskey has been included in the Ireland squad

The midfielder is one of four uncapped players in the squad. Connacht’s Ultan Dillane, Leinster’s Josh van der Flier and Munster’s CJ Stander are the other three.

Ulster skipper Rory Best was named new Ireland captain by head coach Joe Schmidt.

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Ulster backrow Chris henry and Leinster’s Mike Ross and Cian Healy were not included due to injury, but could feature later in the tournament which kicks-off on February 6.

Schmidt commented, “As always there were a number of tight decisions, especially with a number of players not being available to play in recent weeks.

“Stalwarts such as Mike Ross, Cian Healy and Chris Henry are all likely to return to play over the coming weeks and they, along with some of the other players not included will potentially return to the squad post these first two matches.

“There are a few new faces but at the same time we have resisted the temptation to include some of the very promising youngsters, allowing them a bit more time to develop as well as the opportunity of further game time with their provinces.

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“With plenty of new personnel involved the Championship is going to be incredibly challenging and the players selected will know they will need to be at their best to be competitive.”

Ireland will host Wales in the opening round of the Championship on Sunday, February 7 at a sold out Aviva Stadium. They then travel to Paris to take on France at the Stade de France.

The Ireland team will host two open training sessions during the 6 Nations where fans can watch the team train and meet the players. The first open session takes place in the Aviva Stadium on Friday, January 29 with the second taking place in Mullingar RFC on Friday, February 19. Both open sessions are ticketed events with details on how to access tickets available on the IRFU website.

IRELAND 2016 RBS 6 Nations Squad Round 1 & 2

Forwards (19)

Rory Best (Banbridge/Ulster) (capt)

Sean Cronin (St. Mary’s College/Leinster)

James Cronin (Dolphin/Munster)

Ultan Dillane (Corinthians/Connacht)*

Tadhg Furlong (Clontarf/Leinster)

Jamie Heaslip (Dublin University/Leinster) (vc)

Rob Herring (Ballynahinch/Ulster)

Mike McCarthy (Lansdowne/Leinster)

Jack McGrath (St. Mary’s College/Leinster)

Martin Moore (Lansdowne/Leinster)

Sean O’Brien (UCD/Leinster)

Tommy O’Donnell (UL Bohemians/Munster)

Rhys Ruddock (St Mary’s College/Leinster)

Donnacha Ryan (Shannon/Munster)

CJ Stander (Munster)*

Richardt Strauss (Old Wesley/Leinster)

Devin Toner (Lansdowne/Leinster)

Josh van der Flier (UCD/Leinster)*

Nathan White (Connacht)

Backs (16)

Keith Earls (Young Munster/Munster)

Luke Fitzgerald (Blackrock College/Leinster)

Robbie Henshaw (Buccaneers/Connacht)

Paddy Jackson (Dungannon/Ulster)

David Kearney (Lansdowne/Leinster)

Rob Kearney (UCD/Leinster)

Ian Madigan (Blackrock College/Leinster)

Kieran Marmion (Corinthians/Connacht)

Luke Marshall (Ballymena/Ulster)

Stuart McCloskey (Ballynahinch/Ulster)*

Conor Murray (Garryowen/Munster)

Jared Payne (Ulster)

Eoin Reddan (Lansdowne/Leinster)

Jonathan Sexton (St Mary’s College/Leinster)

Andrew Trimble (Ballymena/Ulster)

Simon Zebo (Cork Con/Munster)

Related topics:UlsterIrelandMunster