Nations Championship: Who are the three uncapped players in the Ireland squad?

The sense of anticipation felt by Ireland fans about the start of the inaugural Nations Championship was raised a degree or two on Wednesday when head coach Andy Farrell Announced his 36-man squad His team will play three matches in July.

Farrell has selected three players yet to win their first cap, all three Connacht forwards, to play against Australia, Japan and New Zealand in July.

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

The call-ups reflected Connacht’s excellent form in the latter half of the season, in particular, Stuart Lancaster’s side’s positive results saw them finish eighth in the United Rugby Championship table and thereby progress to the end-of-season play-offs and qualification for next season’s Champions Cup.

In total, six Connacht players have been named with Darragh Murray, Cian Prendergast and Bundy Akio selected.

The inclusion of front-rowers Ilo and Bohan owes much to the unavailability of injured Leinster props Andrew Porter, Jack Boyle and Paddy McCarthy, but both are keen to make the most of their abilities.

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