Uncapped

The sense of anticipation felt by Ireland supporters about the start of the inaugural Nations Championship ramped up a degree or two on Wednesday when head coach Andy Farrell named his 36-man squad for the three matches his side will play in July.

Farrell’s selection for the games against Australia, Japan and New Zealand in July features three players who have yet to win their first caps, all three of those Connacht forwards.

Props Billy Bohan and Sam Illo, along with back row Sean Jansen, are part of the group which will travel to Sydney on Monday to begin their preparation for the three Test matches in the southern hemisphere.

The call-ups reflect the excellent form shown by Connacht in the latter half of the season particularly, as a run of positive results by Stuart Lancaster’s team’s moved them into eighth in the United Rugby Championship table, and thereby progressing to the end-of-season play-offs and qualify for next season’s Champions Cup.

In total, six Connacht players have been named with Darragh Murray, Cian Prendergast and Bundee Aki also having been chosen.

The inclusion of front-rowers Illo and Bohan owes much to the unavailability of injured Leinster props Andrew Porter, Jack Boyle and Paddy McCarthy, but both will be keen to make the most of the opportunity afforded to them.

With the opening fixture with the Wallabies in Sydney on 4 July, BBC Sport NI takes a closer look at the credentials of the uncapped trio in the Ireland squad.

Livingston striker Tete Yengi and former Italy Under-21 winger Cristian Volpato have been named in Australia’s 26-man squad for the World Cup despite the uncapped duo being late additions to Tony Popovic’s pre-tournament training squad.

But 41-times capped Hibernian forward Martin Boyle is one of those who misses out.

Yengi had been loaned out by Livingston to Japanese club Machida Zelvia in January despite his parent club struggling to avoid relegation from the Scottish Premiership.

But the 25-year-old caught Popovic’s eye after scoring six goals in 22 appearances as his new side finished third in Japan’s East Region – and reached the final of the Asian Champions League.

Meanwhile, world governing body Fifa ratified Sassuolo 22-year-old Volpato’s decision to switch on Friday.

Former Brighton & Hove Albion goalkeeper Mat Ryan, now of Levante, and Melbourne City striker Mathew Leckie are poised to equal the national record by being selected for a fourth World Cup.

Former Dundee United left-back Aziz Behich, now of Melbourne, and former Hull City midfielder Jackson Irvine, now at St Pauli are on track to feature at their third.

Meanwhile, Heart of Midlothian midfielder Cammy Devlin and Aberdeen-born Leicester City centre-half Harry Souttar, whose brother John is in the Scotland squad, are among those chosen for their second.

Also included are Swansea City centre-half Cameron Burgess, Watford winger Nestory Irankunda, Norwich City striker Mohamed Toure

Popovic said: “Some difficult decisions had to be made – that’s the nature of major tournaments.

“But it’s also a credit to all the players involved over the past few weeks who worked extremely hard during an extended and challenging pre-camp.”

Former Hearts defender Kye Rowles, now with DC United, had also been added late to the training squad but did not make the final selection.

Australia face Switzerland in their final pre-tournament friendly on Saturday before opening their finals campaign against Turkey on 14 June.

Goalkeepers: Pierce Charles (Sheffield Wednesday), Luke Southwood (Bristol Rovers), Josh Clarke (Partick Thistle – on loan from Celtic)

Defenders: Tom Atcheson (Blackburn Rovers), Ruairi McConville (Norwich City), Trai Hume (Sunderland), Ciaron Brown (Oxford United), Brodie Spencer (Oxford United), Justin Devenny (Crystal Palace).

Midfielders: Ali McCann (Preston North End), Shea Charles (Southampton), Jamie McDonnell (Oxford United), Paul Smyth (Queen’s Park Rangers), Isaac Price (West Brom), Patrick Kelly (Barnsley), Ethan Galbraith (Swansea), Kieran Morrison (Liverpool).

Forwards: Josh Magennis (Exeter City), Jamie Donley (Oxford United), Jamie Reid (Stevenage), Callum Marshall (West Ham), Ceadach O’Neill (Arsenal), Braiden Graham (Everton).