Simon Easterby and his Ireland squad return to camp on Sunday afternoon ahead of next weekend's Guinness Men's Six Nations encounter against Wales in Cardiff, with some new and returning faces arriving at the IRFU High Performance Centre in Abbottstown.
Gavin Coombes, John Hodnett, Diarmuid Mangan, Stuart McCloskey, Jacob Stockdale and Nick Timoney have all been added to the 40 man squad, with Ulster duo Iain Henderson and Cormac Izuchukwu unavailable due to hamstring and ankle injuries respectively.
Leinster back-row Mangan and Munster forward Hodnett are both uncapped.
Hodnett is joined by fellow Munster forward Gavin Coombes who returns to the squad.
Gavin Coombes returns as Simon Easterby and Ireland issue squad update
Coombes has two caps for Ireland under his belt, both coming in 2021, but hasn't been part of the squad since being released from the Rugby World Cup training panel in 2023. He has made no secret of his ambitions of breaking back into the Ireland team.
Mangan gets his first call up to the squad. The 21-year-old was part of the Ireland U20 squad who won Grand Slams in 2022 and 2023. He captained the side at the World Rugby U20 Championship in 2023, where Ireland lost the final against France.
A 40-player Ireland squad return to camp today ahead of the Guinness Men's Six Nations clash against Wales.
Gavin Coombes, John Hodnett, Diarmuid Mangan, Stuart McCloskey, Jacob Stockdale and Nick Timoney have been called up ⬇️#TeamOfUs pic.twitter.com/toWlcO7RPk— Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) February 16, 2025
Injury concerns surrounding captain Caelan Doris and Ronan Kelleher continue to mount with the IRFU stating that their workloads will be "managed" during the week. Doris has remarkably played in all of Ireland's last 42 test matches, stretching back to early 2021.
Encouragingly the union say that Tadhg Furlong is continuing to "make progress", while they also confirmed that Mack Hansen and Joe McCarthy are back training with squad.
Craig Casey will join the camp this week as he bids to return to action in the coming months after suffering a knee injury in Munster's Champions Cup game against Castres in December.
The Ireland team to play Wales will be named on Thursday.
SEE ALSO: Ex-Ireland Out-Half Joey Carbery Clarifies Stance On Shock England Switch
