Ireland name squad for Bok series

Cape Town - The South African-born trio of CJ Stander, Quinn Roux and Richardt Strauss have been included in Ireland's 32-man squad for their three-Test tour of South Africa.

The squad will depart for South Africa on Sunday, June 5 and will be based in Cape Town ahead of the first Test at Newlands (June 11) before moving to Johannesburg for the second Test at Ellis Park (June 18).

The third and final Test will take place in Port Elizabeth at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium (June 25).

Roux is one of two uncapped players who have been included in head coach Joe Schmidt's squad, with New Zealander Sean Reidy also cracking the nod.

Roux played lock for Western Province in 2011 and 2012, before signing for Leinster. He was loaned out to Connacht in 2014 and signed a permanent deal with the club last year.

"Touring South Africa will be arduous to say the least so we've attempted to prioritise players who are currently as close to full fitness as possible. In what is always a difficult balancing act, we've taken a long term view with a number of players who need a rest or will benefit from a full pre-season,” Schmidt told the IRFU’s official website.

Players unavailable for selection include Cian Healy, Denis Buckley, Nathan White, Josh van der Flier, Peter O'Mahony, Sean O'Brien, Tommy Bowe, Andrew Conway and Simon Zebo.

Ireland squad:

Forwards

Finlay Bealham, Rory Best (captain), Sean Cronin, Ultan Dillane, Tadhg Furlong, Jamie Heaslip (vice-captain), Iain Henderson, David Kilcoyne, Jack McGrath, Jordi Murphy, Sean Reidy, Mike Ross, Quinn Roux, Rhys Ruddock, Donnacha Ryan, CJ Stander, Richardt Strauss, Devin Toner

Backs

Keith Earls, Luke Fitzgerald, Robbie Henshaw, Paddy Jackson, David Kearney, Rob Kearney, Kieran Marmion, Luke Marshall, Conor Murray, Stuart Olding, Jared Payne, Eoin Reddan, Jonathan Sexton, Andrew Trimble