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Andy Farrell releases 13 players from Ireland squad for Pro14 duty

By Ciarán Kennedy
Ireland head coach Andy Farrell. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)

Ireland head coach Andy Farrell has released 13 players from his Six Nations squad as attention turns to the trip to face England in Twickenham on February 23.

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With this weekend being a break week in the Six Nations, Farrell will bring a reduced squad of just 23 players to a two day mini training camp in Cork this week.

Thirteen players have been released from the squad, and will return to their provinces with an opportunity to line out in this weekend’s round of Guinness Pro14 fixtures.

Max Deegan, Dave Kearney, Ronan Kelleher, Luke McGrath and Will Connors will all return to Leinster ahead of the province’s home clash against the Cheetahs on Saturday.

Munster duo Chris Farrell and Jack O’Donoghue will also return to their province ahead of Friday’s home game against the Kings.

Connacht will welcome back Ultan Dillane and Dave Heffernan for Saturday’s game against Connacht, while Ulster will have Billy Burns, Stuart McCloskey, Jack McGrath and Tom O’Toole for their trip to play Ospreys on the same day.

Ireland will host an open session in Cork on Thursday, and are set to train with the Ireland U20s squad.

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Farrell has made an impressive start to life as Ireland head coach, picking up wins against Scotland and Wales in Ireland’s opening two Six Nations fixtures, and the squad now head to Twickenham chasing a Triple Crown.

Ireland squad for training camp:

Backs: (11)

Will Addison (Ulster) 4 caps; Bundee Aki (Connacht) 25 caps; Ross Byrne (Leinster) 5 caps; Andrew Conway (Munster) 20 caps; John Cooney (Ulster) 10 caps; Keith Earls (Munster) 83 caps; Robbie Henshaw (Leinster) 42 caps; Jordan Larmour (Leinster) 23 caps; Conor Murray (Munster) 80 caps; Jonathan Sexton (Leinster) 90 caps; Jacob Stockdale (Ulster) 27 caps

Forwards: (12)

Caelan Doris (Leinster) 1 cap; Tadhg Furlong (Leinster) 43 caps; Cian Healy (Leinster) 97 caps; Iain Henderson (Ulster) 55 caps; Rob Herring (Ulster) 10 caps; Dave Kilcoyne (Munster) 38 caps; Peter O’Mahony (Munster) 66 caps; Andrew Porter (Leinster) 25 caps; James Ryan (Leinster) 25 caps; CJ Stander (Munster) 40 caps; Devin Toner (Leinster) 69 caps; Josh van der Flier (Leinster) 25 caps

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Ed the Duck 5 hours ago
How Leinster neutralised 'long-in-the-tooth' La Rochelle

Hey Nick, your match analysis is decent but the top and tail not so much, a bit more random. For a start there’s a seismic difference in regenerating any club side over a test team. EJ pretty much had to urinate with the appendage he’d been given at test level whereas club success is impacted hugely by the budget. Look no further than Boudjellal’s Toulon project for a perfect example. The set ups at La Rochelle and Leinster are like chalk and cheese and you are correct that Leinster are ahead. Leinster are not just slightly ahead though, they are light years ahead on their plans, with the next gen champions cup team already blooded, seasoned and developing at speed from their time manning the fort in the URC while the cream play CC and tests. They have engineered a strong talent conveyor belt into their system, supported by private money funnelled into a couple of Leinster private schools. The really smart move from Leinster and the IRFU however is maximising the Irish Revenue tax breaks (tax relief on the best 10 years earnings refunded at retirement) to help keep all of their stars in Ireland and happy, while simultaneously funding marquee players consistently. And of course Barrett is the latest example. But in no way is he a “replacement for Henshaw”, he’s only there for one season!!! As for Rob Baxter, the best advice you can give him is to start lobbying Parliament and HMRC for a similar state subsidy, but don’t hold your breath… One thing Cullen has been very smart with is his coaching team. Very quickly he realised his need to supplement his skills, there was talk of him exiting after his first couple of years but he was extremely shrewd bringing in Lancaster and now Nienaber. That has worked superbly and added a layer that really has made a tangible difference. Apart from that you were bang on the money… 😉😂

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