The squad will be reduced to 30 players after Ireland’s fixture against the Barbarians at Kingsholm on May 27, with Murphy definitely included in the Southern Hemisphere touring party.
The decision to name 37 players in the initial squad is due to the Munster players being unavailable for the warm up game against the Barbarians as a result of the Heineken Cup Final against Toulouse. Bradley has therefore named additional players who will only be involved in the Barbarians selection. These additional players will then move out of the senior squad and will be included in the Ireland A squad for the Churchill Cup.
Murphy, who currently has 56 caps to his name, will hope to be involved in Test matches against the All Blacks on June 7 and the Wallabies on June 14 as he looks to make a positive impression before new head coach Declan Kidney takes charge of the national team.
“New Zealand is a undoubtedly one of the most challenging places to tour and to win Test matches and that is quickly followed up with a game against an Australian side that will have the fresh input of a new coach and are always among the top sides in the world,” said Bradley.
“We are travelling on the tour with a strong squad conscious of the fact that IRB world ranking points are available and that is what we are playing for.”
Ireland squad
Forwards (22)
Neil Best (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster)*
Rory Best (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster)
Tony Buckley (Shannon/Munster)
Tom Court (Malone/Ulster)*
Bob Casey (London Irish)*
Ryan Caldwell (Dungannon/Ulster)*
Stephen Ferris (Dungannon/Ulster)*
Jerry Flannery (Shannon/Munster)
John Hayes (Bruff/Munster)
Jamie Heaslip (Clontarf/Leinster)
Marcus Horan (Shannon/Munster)
Bernard Jackman (Clontarf/Leinster)
Shane Jennings (St.Mary’s College/Leinster)
Denis Leamy (Cork Constitution/Munster)
Donncha O’Callaghan (Cork Constitution/Munster)
Paul O’Connell (Young Munster/Munster)
Mick O’Driscoll (Cork Constitution/Munster)
Malcolm O’Kelly (St.Mary’s College/Leinster)
Alan Quinlan (Shannon/Munster)
Mike Ross (Harlequins)*
David Wallace (Garryowen/Munster)
Bryan Young (Ballymena/Ulster)
Backs (15)
Tommy Bowe (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster)
Isaac Boss (Ballymena/Ulster)
Ian Dowling (Shannon/Munster)
Girvan Dempsey (Terenure College/Leinster)
Gavin Duffy (Galwegians/Connacht)
Luke Fitzgerald (Blackrock College/Leinster)
Shane Horgan (Boyne/Leinster)
Robert Kearney (UCD/Leinster)
Geordan Murphy (Leicester)
Brian O’Driscoll (UCD/Leinster) Captain
Ronan O’Gara (Cork Constitution/Munster)
Eoin Reddan (Wasps)
Jonathon Sexton (St.Mary’s College/Leinster)*
Peter Stringer (Shannon/Munster)
Paddy Wallace (Ballymena/Ulster)
*Denotes players for Barbarians match squad who will not be travelling to New Zealand and Australia
Not considered due to injury
Gordon D’Arcy (Lansdowne/Leinster) {Arm}
Leo Cullen (Blackrock College/Leinster) {Shoulder}
Andrew Trimble (Ballymena/Ulster) {Leg}
