ALL 18 players who played for the Ireland Schools' side during the successful Triple Crown campaign this season are included in the 26-man squad to tour Australia in July and August.

The team will be captained by Barry Gibney and he is one of nine members of Blackrock, who won the Leinster Schools' Senior Cup this season, included in the squad. Six of the nine were ever-present in the Triple Crown-winning side. They are Gibney, Thomas Keating, Ciaran Scally, Peter Smyth, Robert Casey, and Leo Cullen. The three other Blackrock players in the squad are wing David Johnston, centre David Quinlan and flanker Richard Woods. Such a large representation is a tribute to the quality of the Blackrock side.

The team will play nine matches and the tour will end with a Test against Australia at the Manuka Oval, Canberra, on August 28th. The tour opens at the Perrylake Stadium in Perth on July 28th when Ireland will meet the Western Australian under-19 team.

Gerry Kelly (Garbally College), the current president of the Connacht Branch and chairman of the schools' selection committee this season, will manage the team which will be coached by Keith Patton, who coached the team to their Triple Crown success. His assistant will be John McClean (Terenure College), who assisted Patton in the preparation of the side this season.