The team will be coached by the former British & Irish Lions flanker, Simon Easterby. He will be assisted by the former Lions captain, Paul O’Connell, as well the former England international, Mike Catt, as well as John Fogarty who is the current scrum coach for the Irish.

O'Connell was the captain of the British & Irish Lions during the 2009 tour of South Africa. During that tour the Lions edged the Cheetahs 26-24 in Bloemfontein.

David Nucifora, the performance director for IRFU said the Toyota Challenge will be an ideal opportunity to expose the fringe players in the Irish setup.

“This opportunity presented itself quite late but the drawn series against the Maori All Blacks in July highlighted the value of exposing less experienced players to the rigours of an international set-up and the benefit that can be garnered from a challenging touring environment and exposure to the national coaching group.”

“This tournament will provide a significant development opportunity for a group of talented young players.”

Easterby in turned said that growth they saw during the tour to New Zealand has been encouraging. “The growth we witnessed in the less experienced players in New Zealand over the four weeks was incredible to see.

“The two Maori fixtures were invaluable in broadening our talent pool ahead of Rugby World Cup 2023 and the coaching group see this as another opportunity to increase the depth of talent available to the national squad ahead of the World Cup in France and beyond.”

On 30 September the Griquas tackle the Irish at 13:45 and at 16:15 the Cheetahs face Italy A at the Toyota Stadium.

Fixtures:

Friday, 30 September 2022:

13h45: Griquas vs Emerging Ireland

16h15: Cheetahs vs Italy A (Toyota Challenge match)

Wednesday, 5 October 2022:

17h00: Pumas vs Emerging Ireland

19h00: Griquas vs Italy A

Sunday, 9 October 2022:

11h00: Pumas vs Italy A

13h00: Cheetahs vs Emerging Ireland (Toyota Challenge Match)

Friday, 14 October 2022:

18h00: Cheetahs vs USA (Toyota Challenge Match)

Friday, 21 October 2022:

13h45: Pumas vs USA National A

16h15: Cheetahs vs Griquas (Toyota Challenge Match)

Morgan Piek OFM Sport