Munster wing Diarmuid Kilgallen and number eight Brian Gleeson have joined the Ireland squad for training purposes at the IRFU High Performance Centre (HPC) at Abbotstown as they prepare for summer Tests against Georgia and Portugal.
The 24-year-old has been called in as cover for Calvin Nash who is nursing an ankle injury, which will limit his on-field participation this week. The Kildare-born Kilgallen, who played club rugby with Naas and schools at Cistercian Roscrea, scored a dozen tries during his time at Connacht before joining Munster last summer.
Injury curtailed his opportunities but could not camouflage his talent. He made his Munster debut against an All Blacks XV and scored two tries on his first appearance in the Champions Cup against Northampton Saints at Franklin’s Gardens. Tall, athletic, light on his feet and quick, his skill set would allow him to play anywhere from outside centre, wing to fullback.
The Lions in Dublin - what to expect?
Ulster’s James McNabney suffered an unfortunate ACL injury in training and the backrow has not linked up as one of the additional training players. Gleeson, a standout player for Ireland at Under-20s level, joins a quintet of uncapped players in that ancillary category to the squad that tours, one that includes Evan O’Connell, Zac Ward, Jude Postlethwaite and Kilgallen.
Ireland will train at the HPC on Thursday and next week before departing for Tbilisi on Wednesday, July 2nd. They play Georgia on Saturday, July 5th (6pm, Irish time) and a week later face Portugal in Lisbon on Saturday, July 12th (7pm, Irish time).
