Oxford RL Matty Hadden has been called up into the Ireland squad for the forthcoming Rugby League World Cup which starts on Saturday, Following the withdrawal of Warrington's Simon Grix from the squad, Hadden linked up with the squad on Saturday for his first training session at the UCLAN Sports Arena in Preston. Matty has already represented the Irish students and Ireland A along with having a taste of action with the full Ireland squad where he played against the England Knights and Scotland in the 2012 European Cup. Speaking on the addition to his squad Ireland Head Coach Mark Aston had high praise for the former Antrim Eels man “He’s a top young man who has certainly progressed over the last twelve months. He works hard and is an uncompromising sort of prop forward and I’m sure for his personal development this will be massive for him.”

Speaking on joining the squad, Matty said "I'm delighted to be included in the squad as I wasn't expecting the call." "It's a fantastic opportunity for me and will give me some good experience considering I am still fairly new to the game. I'm looking forward to learning from the established players in the squad and looking forward to the challenge ahead." Ireland begin their World Cup Campaign on the 28th October in Rochdale where they face the side who eliminated them from the 2008 tournament, Fiji. This is then followed by a game against the hosts in the shape of England and they will finish off their group campaign against Australia.