By Country / Ireland

The stubborn performance by Munster's pack that drove them to Heineken Cup glory has forced Michael Bradley with the easiest decision of naming seven of the pack that destroyed Toulouse in the side to face New Zealand.

Had Alan Quinlan been fit, it could've been more with Jamie Heaslip forming the back-bone of the pack at number eight.

If Munster's gritty army of forwards will lead from the front, the penetration will come from Magners League champions, Leinster with Luke Fitgerald, Brian O'Driscoll, Rob Kearney and Shane Horgan int he backs.

Scrum-half Eoin Reddan said: "We've got a team full of individual belief, and it's about getting a collective belief now."

IRELAND: 15 Robert Kearney, 14 Shane Horgan, 13 Brian O'Driscoll (captain), 12 Luke Fitzgerald, 11 Tommy Bowe, 10 Ronan O'Gara, 9 Eoin Reddan, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 David Wallace, 6 Denis Leamy, 5 Donncha O'Callaghan, 4 Paul O'Connell, 3 John Hayes, 2 Jerry Flannery, 1 Marcus Horan. Reserves: 16 Girvan Dempsey, 17 Paddy Wallace, 18 Peter Stringer, 19 Shane Jennings, 20 Mick O'Driscoll, 21 Tony Buckley, 22 Rory Best.

London Irish skipper Bob Casey has been rewarded for a sensational season leading the Exiles with a call-up to the Ireland squad for the game against the Barbarians on May 27. It doesn't mean that he's off to the southern hemisphere but it could certainly put him in the shop window if any of his seniors get injury.

Andrew Trimble, Gordon D'Arcy and Leo Cullen are all absentees from the squad that will travel to Australia and New Zealand but there are places for Connacht's Gavin Duffy, Munster's Ian Dowling and Leinster's Shane Jennings.

Forwards: Neil Best (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster), Rory Best (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster), Tony Buckley (Shannon/Munster), Tom Court (Malone/Ulster)*, Bob Casey (London Irish)*, Ryan Caldwell (Dungannon/Ulster)*, Stephen Ferris (Dungannon/Ulster)*, Jerry Flannery (Shannon/Munster), John Hayes (Bruff/Munster), Jamie Heaslip (Clontarf/Leinster), Marcus Horan (Shannon/Munster), Bernard Jackman (Clontarf/Leinster), Shane Jennings (St.Mary's College/Leinster), Denis Leamy (Cork Constitution/Munster), Donncha O'Callaghan (Cork Constitution/Munster), Paul O'Connell (Young Munster/Munster), Mick O'Driscoll (Cork Constitution/Munster), Malcolm O'Kelly (St.Mary's College/Leinster), Alan Quinlan (Shannon/Munster), Mike Ross (Harlequins)*, David Wallace (Garryowen/Munster), Bryan Young (Ballymena/Ulster).

Backs: Tommy Bowe (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster), Isaac Boss (Ballymena/Ulster), Ian Dowling (Shannon/Munster), Girvan Dempsey (Terenure College/Leinster), Gavin Duffy (Galwegians/Connacht), Luke Fitzgerald (Blackrock College/Leinster), Shane Horgan (Boyne/Leinster), Robert Kearney (UCD/Leinster), Geordan Murphy (Leicester), Brian O'Driscoll (UCD/Leinster) (c), Ronan O'Gara (Cork Constitution/Munster), Eoin Reddan (Wasps), Jonathon Sexton (St.Mary's College/Leinster)* , Peter Stringer (Shannon/Munster), Paddy Wallace (Ballymena/Ulster).

Declan Kidney has been appointed as Ireland's Head Coach but will not take over until after the squad returns from a summer tour of New Zealand and Australia.

Kidney, who was former coach, Eddie O'Sullivan's trusty steed from 2002, will be hoping to transfer some of Munster's European confidence onto the international side, for they have been playing with similar enthusiasm as a group of kids just about to go on the ghost train.

He has led Munster to all four of their Heineken Cup finals and has previously worked with the likes of Brian O'Driscoll and Donncha O'Callaghan in the youth setup.

Resignation: 'the acceptance of something that is undesirable but inevitable.'

Ever since Eddie O'Sullivan signed a four-year extension as Ireland coach before the World Cup, his shelf life was rocky at best.

Not the kind of man who would jump unless he was given a rather forceful nudge, especially with a rather lucrative and very generous contract still paying the bills, O'Sullivan had seemingly dug himself so deep into the mire that the only way out was to escape via a tunnel underneath Lansdowne Road.

After leading Ireland through a disastrous World Cup campaign, whimpering out at the group stage, he guided a poor class of 2008 to their worst ever Six Nations finish since 1999.

O'Sullivan showed far too much faith in players who were clearly out of form such as Ronan O'Gara, leading to serious doubts cast over his management style.

His lack of a ruthless streak gave the wrong impression of an unwillingness to experiment with new talent, which in fact was a policy dictated by people at the top table of Irish rugby.

The critics have been harsh with O'Sullivan receiving more complaints than OFCOM over the ITV telephone saga.

In an Ireland career that lasted six years O'Sullivan had overseen Ireland's most successful rugby era, but still hadn't won anything apart from a trio of Triple Crowns.

The IRFU will have enviously peered over at their Welsh neighbours, scratching their heads at how such an unglamorous squad can boast two Grand Slams in the past four years - a period blessed with Ireland’s most talented group of players.

Declan Kidney and Jake White are the favourites to take over but Pat Howard’s complete ignorance for conservatism would be a preferred option with the supporters.

Eddie O'Sullivan, coach, was appointed November 28 2001. He was found unemployed on March 20, 2008.