Which players could prove their worth during Irelands July Test matches?
Irelands depth will face the sternest of examinations next season. A gruelling campaign awaits. The November Tests  with the All Blacks and Pumas set to visit town  will precede the 2022 Six Nations, which will feature visits to Twickenham and Stade de France before Farrells squad board a flight to Auckland next July for a three-Test series against New Zealand on their home turf. Theres also the small matter of the new United Rugby Championship  with all the South African brute force  and the European Cup on the agenda. Its a relentless schedule. No doubt, there will be casualties along the way. Ireland will need plenty of reinforcements. In the coming weeks, Andy Farrell is going to find out how deep his well of resources runs. He was always going to cast the net wide for next months games against Japan and the US Eagles. Seven frontliners will be away with the Lions this summer. CJ Stander has retired. Quinn Roux is off to Toulon. The likes of James Lowe, John Cooney, Eric OSullivan and Gavin Thornbury are injured. Meanwhile, Johnny Sexton, Cian Healy and Keith Earls have been given the summer off. Theres a clear logic to this. Ireland need to build depth at loosehead prop and out-half while Farrell could do with a game-breaker in the outside channels who is not a defensive liability. Ireland need a few more leaders as well. On the flip side, Sexton, Healy and Earls will have full pre-seasons behind them (something of a rarity in the modern game) and should be primed when the new term gets underway. Yesterday, the Ireland head coach included 11 uncapped players in his 37-man squad. His message to them was clear: seize your chance this summer because the scope for experimentation gets very narrow from 2022 onwards. The international scene is a different world, Farrell warned. Gavin Coombes is set for his first taste of Test action in July and the Munster No8 looks to have the size and skills to cope in this rarefied environment. The Corkman has been a standout performer for his province all season. His remarkable strike-rate of 15 tries in 22 appearances has caught the eye, but he has the all-round game to make a big impact at international level. He is one of several newcomers who could provide a new attacking spark to this operation. Robert Baloucoune is another. There is plenty to like about the Ulster wing. Fast, elusive and powerful, like Coombes, he knows his way to the try-line as well. No harm in a team which has struggled to break down stubborn opposition defences for much of Farrells tenure thus far. Baloucounes provincial teammate Nick Timoney is another interesting prospect. Timoney could have a big summer, if given the opportunity. There has also been a welcome return for a few most established players who have struggled with injuries. Joey Carbery, Will Addison and Caelan Doris have all spent a fair bit of time on the sidelines with injury problems. The quality and game-breaking ability of all three is unquestionable. Durability has been the issue. Its an exciting group. If Farrell and his coaching team can fuse it all together then were in a for a thriller against Japan on July 3. The prospect of James Ryan  who will once again step into the captaincy role  and Ryan Baird together in the second row looks potentially world class. A back-row featuring Coombes and Doris as a twin ball-carrying threat could be special with the Munster half-back pairing of Craig Casey and Carbery injecting plenty of tempo. There is no shortage of firepower out wide to capitalise, with Garry Ringrose, Jordan Larmour, Baloucoune, Addison and Hugo Keenan all available. Control will be key. The last thing this young Ireland squad want is a free-for-all against Japan. Farrell and Co certainly do not need a repeat of Shizuoka in 2019. That World Cup defeat will focus Irish minds in the weeks ahead. The US Eagles shouldnt cause this group too many problems the week after. No, its Japan who will really test the resolve and quality of this squad. They will be battled hardened as well. Last week, Jamie Josephs side battled past the Sunwolves. Their hit-out against the Lions in Murrayfield on June 26 should have them in good shape ahead of the trip to Dublin. Worryingly for Ireland, many of the same customers who caused them so many problems at the World Cup will be back on duty again: Michael Leitch, Kazuki Himeno and Kotaro Matsushima, to name but a few. Farrell will find out plenty this summer, there is no doubt about that. Some lads will absolutely thrive in the environment, he said yesterday. Im sure that their characters will come through, first and foremost, and some lads may not. It might absolutely kick everyone on when they get to be able to be rest during the summer. We get to think about where theyre at within their careers and hopefully we get to meet up as a squad at the start of next season with 50, 60 lads that are all competing hard to be involved in whats going to be a massive year.  Thats the plan anyway. This summer will reveal a lot about Irelands depth.