THE THREE-TEST series promises to be a blockbuster, but there’s no doubt that two more midweek matches make the Irish tour of New Zealand even more interesting.
The arduous but thrilling schedule begins next Wednesday as Ireland take on the Māori All Blacks in Waikato three days before the first Test. A second midweek match against the Maori team will follow on Tuesday July 12 in Wellington ahead of the third Test.
With 15 months to go before the World Cup, Ireland manager Andy Farrell has the chance to learn more about the depth of his squad, having brought a squad of 40 players to New Zealand.
So, just days before Ireland arrive on the pitch, today’s episode of The42 Rugby Weekly The podcast saw Gavan Casey and Murray Kinsella discuss Farrell’s possible selections for the first two games.
Here are the teams Murray has chosen for both matches:
Ireland v Maori All Blacks
- 15. Mike Lowry
- 14. Keith Earls (Captain)
- 13. James Hume
- 12. Ciaran Frawley
- 11. Jordan Larmour
- 10. Harry Byrne
- 9. Craig Casey
- 1. Jeremy Loughman
- 2. Dave Heffernan
- 3. Finlay Bealham
- 4.Joe McCarthy
- 5. Tadhg Beirne
- 6. Cian Prendergast
- 7. Nick Timoney
- 8. Gavin Combes
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Ireland v New Zealand
- 15. Hugo Keenan
- 14. MacHansen
- 13. Garry Ringrose
- 12. Bundee Aki
- 11. James Lowe
- 10. Johnny Sexton (Captain)
- 9. Jamison Gibson-Park
- 1.Andrew Porter
- 2. Dan Sheehan
- 3. Tadhg Furlong
- 4. Iain Henderson
- 5. James Ryan
- 6. Peter O’Mahony
- 7. Josh van der Flier
- 8. Caelan Doris
You can listen to today’s full episode of The42 Rugby Weekly featuring Gavan and Murray below or on your favorite podcast app:
Source: The42 Rugby Weekly/SoundCloud