Former Naas RFC man Tracy set for international debut against Canada this weekend

Former Naas RFC clubman James Tracy is set to earn his first cap for Ireland after being named among the substitutes for the country's test match against Canada in the Aviva this weekend.

The Kill native has enjoyed a rather quick rise to prominence in the past year, with his development gathering massive momentum as he took the place of Richardt Strauss for the role of understudy to Sean Cronin at provincial level. He will be given that role this Saturday against the Canadians, and the 25-year-old will be hoping to get onto the field as early as possible to see plenty of game time.

Athy's Joey Carbery is also set to make his home debut for Ireland -he too is named on the bench- after impressing when called upon for the final quarter of Ireland's historic victory over New Zealand last weekend.

There will be other debutants on Saturday too, with Jack O'Donoghue, Garry Ringrose and Billy Holland primed for their first taste of international rugby, while John Ryan, Luke McGrath, Dan Leavy and Niyi Adeolokun are also listed on the replacements bench for Joe Schmidt's side.

An exciting looking team is boosted by the returns of Cian Healy, Sean O'Brien and Peter O'Mahony to the first XV, while exciting talents such as Ultan Dillane, Josh Van Der Flier, Kieran Marmion and Tiarnan O'Halloran will be hopeful of boosting their prospects of further starts in a green jersey.