Ireland A to play Spain in Leganés on Nov 8

Ireland A will travel to Spain to play a development fixture against the Spanish national side in Leganés on Saturday, 8 November, the Irish Rugby Football Union said. The match will kick off at 5pm local time, 4pm Irish time, at Estadio Municipal de Butarque, with streaming details to be confirmed. The Ireland A squad will be announced in the coming weeks.

Connacht scrum and contact coach Cullie Tucker has been named head coach for the trip. He will be assisted by Mossy Lawler as backs and attack coach, Jimmy Duffy as forwards coach, and Sean O'Brien as defence coach. The IRFU said the fixture is intended to give young and fringe players further exposure to high level game time in a national environment as part of a broader strategy to widen the talent pool available for senior selection.

Tucker, who worked with the Ireland coaching group during the summer tour of Georgia and Portugal, steps into the head coach role for this one-off match. His management team draws on coaches from across the provinces, with Lawler associated with Munster, Duffy with Ulster, and O'Brien with Leinster. The appointment continues a pattern of using Ireland A assignments to develop coaches as well...