Cian Prendergast will captain Emerging Ireland in the second match of the South African tour against the Pumas.
Emerging Ireland manager Simon Easterby made 15 changes to his starting squad, while only five starting players in the 54-7 win over Griquas were named on the bench.
Seven players who were named as substitutes against Griquas will start against Pumas on Wednesday, while 11 players will feature for Emerging Ireland for the first time on tour.
High turnover of players.
The high turnover comes as no surprise, as the main focus of the tour is to present opportunities to promising players, while winning all three matches is of secondary importance.
Also, emerging Ireland will play the third and final game of the tour on Sunday, just four days after tomorrow’s game, so rotation was always going to be necessary to keep it fresh.
All 34 players on tour will have played on tour after tomorrow’s game against the Pumas, with 30 of them starting a game, with the final game against the Cheetahs remaining.
Shane Daly is the only Matchday Squad player to earn a cap for Ireland, unlike the first game of the tour, where Robert Baloucoune and Max Deegan also featured.
However, many of the players involved have represented Ireland at minors level, while winger Andrew Smith has featured for the Irish sevens side, most notably at the recent Rugby Sevens World Cup 2022 in Cape Town.
Presentation of the #EmergingIreland Match Day Squad for Wednesday’s Tour match against the Pumas in Bloemfontein, captained by Cian Prendergast! 👊🇿🇦#TeamOfUs | #IrishRugby
— Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) October 4, 2022
Emerging Ireland’s match day team will face the Pumas.
15. Chay Mullins (Connacht)
14. Ethan McIlroy (Ulster)
13. Antoine Frisch (Munster)
12. Cathal Forde (Connacht)
11. Andrew Smith (Leinster)
10. Jake Flannery (Ulster)
9. Michael McDonald (Ulster)
1. Callum Reid (Ulster)
2. Diarmuid Barron (Munster)
3. Roman Salonoa (Munster)
4. Cormac Izuchukwu (Ulster)
5. Brian Deeny (Leinster)
6. Cian Prendergast (Connacht)(Captain)
7. John Hodnett (Munster)
8. James Culhane (Leinster)
Replacements:
16. Dylan Tierney-Martin (Connacht)
17. Josh Wycherley (Munster)
18. Sam Illo (Connacht)
19. Tom Ahern (Munster)
20. David McCann (Ulster)
21. Ben Murphy (Leinster)
22. Jack Crowley (Munster)
23. Shane Daly (Munster)
Find out more about: Emerging Ireland
