Squad for Chile and match times...

With just nine weeks until the Irish Men compete at the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in New Zealand , Dave Passmore has named a squad of twenty for their tour to Chile following last weekend’s match’s in Scotland.

Andrew McConnell retains his place after impressing in his first cap last weekend while Irish stalwarts Butler , Shaw and Barbour have all been left at home due to work commitments.
This tour will give the Irish experience and acclimatisation against the fast pace of the South American countries in a climate the management say is akin to New Zealand.

One of the most positive parts of the trip is that funding has been received from both the Irish Institute of Sport and Irish Sports Council, giving our boys a chance to achieve the best pssoible preparation.

Passmore said of the support received: 'This trip has been possible due to the support and additional funding of the Irish Institute of Sport and Irish Sports Council. It is disappointing that we have three players unavailable due to work commitments. But these athletes will be working hard physically and technically over the period we are away to ensure they are fully prepared for the final period of preparation and selection for New Zealand.”

The players depart for Chile on 11th December returning just in time to spend a few days at home for Christmas on December 23rd. During this time Ireland will play South Africa, Chile and Argentina .

"Chile will provide the perfect climate, training and competitive environment to develop towards the qualifier. It is ideal that we have a variety of opposition playing styles and an opportunity to develop some of the areas we fell short on in Manchester . We showed signs of progress in Scotland last weekend but there is a long way to go given the difficult opposition we face in Auckland" continued Passmore.

Squad: Andy McConnell, David Hobbs, Eugene Magee, Gareth Lennox, Iain Lewers, Jason Black, Karl Burns, Mark Black, Mark Gleghorne, Mark Irwin, Paddy Brown, Phelie Maguire, Ronan Gormley, Michael Watt, Tim Lewis, David Harte, Timmy Cockram, Mark Ruddle, Geoff McCabe, John Jermyn

Schedule: Warm up Game:14/12 Ireland V Chile
Four Nations Tournament, Santiago Chile (Irish Time)
17/12 (8pm) Ireland V South Africa; 18/12 (10pm) Ireland V Chile; 20/12 Ireland V Argentina