Caelan Doris named Captain as Andy Farrell names his Ireland Squad for November Internationals

Author: Liam Lacey, Last Updated: 31 Oct 2024

Ireland rugby Head Coach has named his final Ireland squad before his break away coaching the British and Irish Lions in 2025 after the 2024 Autumn series in November.

Caelan Doris has been named as the Irish captain by the management team ahead of the four-game series, succeeding Munster’s Peter O’ Mahoney who also makes the squad and will continue his rehabilitation as he builds towards a return to action over the coming weeks.

What were the big Talking Points from the Squad

Farrell and his coaching team have named a 35-man squad for the November internationals in which they head into as the world’s number one ranked side with the big take away from the announcement, the appointment of Doris as skipper. The Leinster man has four games now to really put his hand up to be in the conversation to be Farrell’s Lions captain next summer. There will be the Six Nations as well of course, but there is an opportunity in November for the 26-year-old to lead his team to some big wins, and to show his boss what he can do, although Farrell will be fully aware of what Doris can bring to the party.

Any New Faces

The management team have resisted the urge to make wholesale changes to the squad and have named just two uncapped players in the squad. Ulster forward Cormac Izuchukwu is rewarded for his fine form for his province while Leinster fly-half Sam Prendergast will be hoping to make his Ireland debut over the course of the month after being named off the back of impressing in South Africa with the Emerging Ireland side.

Five more uncapped players Thomas Clarkson of Leinster, Munster’s Alex Kendellen, Shayne Bolton of Connacht and Leinster duo Jack Boyle and Gus McCarthy have been called in as training panellists and will travel with the squad to warm weather training in Portugal. McCarthy out of the five uncapped panellists could be the one to make an impact considering the issues Andy Farrell may have at hooker for the upcoming games.

Who will get the nod at Out Half

Ciaran Frawley will have given his coach and his fans a scare when they saw the Leinster back limp off the field during Leinster’s 33-12 win over Connacht. Those fears were quickly allayed however by Leinster announcing that the 26-year-old was not as badly hurt as feared freeing him up to go head-to-head with Munster’s jack Crowley for the starting 10 jersey against the All Blacks on November 8th.

Crowley appeared to be the immediate successor to Johnny Sexton when he was handed the 10 shirt for the 2024 6 Nations, but Frawley’s form over the summer in South Africa including that last gasp drop goal to beat the World Champions has certainly put the question to the Ireland coach about who might start at 10. The fact that Frawley has been used at out-half by Leo Cullen at Leinster in the opening weeks of the season can’t have done his chances of starting any harm at all either.

Who will Ireland be Playing

There are some mouth-watering ties to look forward to over the Autumn Internationals. First up for Ireland, a match against New Zealand. In what is fast becoming a top-quality Northern Hemisphere v Southern Hemisphere rivalry Ireland will be hungry to avenge for the heart-breaking defeat to the All Blacks at the World Cup last year. That game and what was apparently said afterwards between the two teams was spiky to say the least, so for those lucky enough to have a ticket, they might be treated to something special.

A week later, November 15th Ireland welcome former Leinster man Felipe Contepomi’s Argentina side to Dublin. The Argentine side are travelling after a Rugby Championship in which they had victories over all of New Zealand, South Africa and Australia.

Ireland face off against Fiji on November 23rd before welcoming Joe Schmidt back to Dublin when he arrives with his Australian team on November 30th. That match is an 150th Anniversary Test for Irish rugby and could end the series on a high for the Irish fans.

The Ireland squad will assemble at the IRFU High Performance Centre, before travelling to Portugal for a training camp ahead of the first game against the All Blacks on November 8th.

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