Northern Edition

Select Edition

Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
New Zealand New Zealand
France France
33 - 29
FT
42 - 19
FT
22 - 19
FT
43 - 14
FT
45 - 30
FT
29 - 13
FT
24 - 23
FT
37 - 10
FT
32 - 27
FT
22 - 24
FT
32 - 13
FT
21 - 10
FT
30 - 26
FT
23 - 33
FT
57 - 17
FT
35 - 18
FT
17 - 36
FT
12 - 8
FT
Thursday
14:00
Six NationsIreland

Defending champions Ireland name Six Nations squad

Defending Six Nations champions Ireland. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)

Joe Schmidt has named his final Six Nations squad in charge of Ireland, as they seek to defend their title.

ADVERTISEMENT

The New Zealander will depart at the end of the 2019 Rugby World Cup, with Andy Farrell to take over.

The 38-man squad includes three uncapped players, the Connacht backline trio of Caolin Blade Jack Carty and Tom Farrell.

Carty takes place of Leinster flyhalf Ross Byrne, who fails to make the cut. Scrum half Blade is given the chance to impress in place of his clubmate Kieran Marmion, who had ankle surgery in November and is not due back until February, while Leinster scrum half Luke McGrath was ruled out of the competition out with a knee ligament injury which he sustained against Toulouse last weekend.

Leinster flanker Dan Leavy also misses out through injury.

Joe Schmidt, Ireland head coach commented, “It’s been great to watch the provincial teams doing so well in recent weeks. With another very competitive round of EPCR this weekend, the following Ireland squad for the first two matches of the Six Nations has been selected, knowing that late changes may be required, depending on how the matches go in the weekend. There have been a number of tight calls across almost every position.

“In the front row, Finlay Bealham was very close, as was Marty Moore, who is getting back to the form that saw him win 10 caps in the past and Stephen Archer was at his combative best in Gloucester at the weekend. Rob Herring is very unlucky as his performances for the National team have been first rate. Denis Buckley has done well for Connacht and the promising young loose heads Ed Byrne and Eric O’Sullivan have continued to impress.

ADVERTISEMENT

“Quinn Roux was very close to selection in the second row, which has become highly competitive with youngsters Gav Thornbury, Fineen Wycherley and Kieran Treadwell all impressing of late along with the experienced Billy Holland.

“Even more competitive is the back row, where those selected could well be joined by Dan Leavy once he’s fully fit. Sean Reidy continues to be all action for Ulster and Tommy O’Donnell is starting to get back to top form as well after his recent return from injury. With a cohort of young players emerging, it will continue to keep plenty of pressure on the performances of the experienced back rowers who have been selected.

“Conor Murray is back but Luke McGrath’s knee injury against Toulouse is likely to rule him out of the Six Nations. Kieran Marmion is not too far away from returning but John Cooney will hopefully be back this weekend for Ulster. It’s a great opportunity for Caolin Blade to get into camp and compete for a spot.

“Johnny Sexton is making good progress, while Joey Carbery and Jack Carty have both performed consistently well so far this season. Ross Byrne is unlucky in an incredibly tight call. He is still definitely in our thinking and will continue to press for inclusion through the Six Nations and beyond, while Billy Burns has also fitted in really well for Ulster this season.

ADVERTISEMENT

“Bundee Aki and a fresh and fully fit Robbie Henshaw squeeze out Rory Scannell, who was great for Munster last Friday, and Stu McCloskey, who continues to give Ulster gain line as well as defensive solidity. At outside centre Tom Farrell has forced his way into contention and Chris Farrell is working his way back to match fitness, improving week by week. We’re sure that Sam Arnold and Rory O’Loughlin will continue to improve and both have plenty of promise.

“Finally Adam Byrne and Dave Kearney were both very good against Toulouse. The Connacht outside backs have been consistently good, Mike Haley is growing into his role with Munster while we look forward to a fit again Darren Sweetnam gaining some game minutes over the coming weeks.”

Ireland host England on the opening weekend of the 2019 Guinness Six Nations before heading to Murrayfield to face Scotland.

In Round 3 Ireland face Italy in Rome on Sunday 24th February before hosting France on Sunday 10th March at the Aviva Stadium. Ireland’s final fixture of the 2019 Guinness Six Nations will take place in Cardiff on Saturday 16th March.

The Ireland squad will travel to Portugal on Monday 21st January for a four day camp before returning to Ireland on Friday 25th January.

IRELAND squad 2019 Guinness Six Nations Championship Rounds 1 & 2

Forwards (21)
Rory Best (Ulster/Banbridge) 113 caps (c)
Tadhg Beirne (Munster/Lansdowne) 4 caps
Jack Conan (Leinster/Old Belvedere) 11 caps
Sean Cronin (Leinster/St Mary’s College) 65 caps
Ultan Dillane (Connacht/Corinthians) 11 caps
Tadhg Furlong (Leinster/Clontarf) 28 caps
Cian Healy (Leinster/Clontarf) 84 caps
Iain Henderson (Ulster/Queens University) 42 caps
Dave Kilcoyne (Munster/UL Bohemians) 24 caps
Jack McGrath (Leinster/St Marys College) 53 caps
Jordi Murphy (Ulster/Lansdowne) 26 caps
Sean O’Brien (Leinster/UCD) 52 caps
Peter O’Mahony (Munster/Cork Constitution) 52 caps (vc)
Andrew Porter (Leinster/UCD) 11 caps
Rhys Ruddock (Leinster/St Mary’s College) 21 caps
James Ryan (Leinster/UCD) 13 caps
John Ryan (Munster/Cork Constitution) 16 caps
Niall Scannell (Munster/Dolphin) 11 caps
CJ Stander (Munster/Shannon) 28 caps
Devin Toner (Leinster/Lansdowne) 63 caps
Josh van der Flier (Leinster/UCD) 13 caps

Backs (17)
Will Addison (Ulster/Enniskillen) 3 caps
Bundee Aki (Connacht/Galwegians) 12 caps
Caolin Blade (Connacht/Galwegians) 0 caps
Joey Carbery (Munster/Clontarf) 16 caps
Jack Carty (Connacht/Buccaneers) 0 caps
Andrew Conway (Munster/Garryowen) 10 caps
John Cooney (Ulster/Terenure College) 4 caps
Keith Earls (Munster/Young Munster) 72 caps
Chris Farrell (Munster/Young Munster) 3 caps
Tom Farrell (Connacht/TBC) 0 caps
Robbie Henshaw (Leinster/Buccaneers) 36 caps
Rob Kearney (Leinster/UCD) 87 caps
Jordan Larmour (Leinster/St Mary’s College) 9 caps
Conor Murray (Munster/Garryowen) 67 caps
Garry Ringrose (Leinster/UCD) 17 caps
Jonathan Sexton (Leinster/St Marys College) 78 caps (vc)
Jacob Stockdale (Ulster/Ballynahinch) 14 caps

You may also like: Warren Gatland discusses Wales’ chances of winning 2019 Six Nations

Video Spacer

ADVERTISEMENT

LIVE

{{item.title}}

Trending on RugbyPass

1

Everyone is saying the same thing after agonising England loss

2

All Blacks XV player ratings vs Munster | Autumn Nations Series

3

Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii strikes awe as Wallabies lose star midfielder

4

Scott Robertson responds to criticism over All Blacks' handling errors

5

'World-class finisher' offers All Blacks selection solution

6

Borthwick, it's time to own up – Andy Goode

7

Marcus Smith on that substitution and his England plea

8

England player ratings vs New Zealand | Autumn Nations Series 2024

Comments

0 Comments
Be the first to comment...

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

LONG READ

The joy, spirit and obstacles of the rugby pilgrim

What is life like for those who traverse the rugby world as supporters, and is the game as accessible as it should be?

LONG READ

England need to face a few home truths if they are to relearn that winning habit

Twickenham played their part in a classic encounter but England contrived to play the part of gallant losers once again

LONG READ

Mick Cleary: 'Borthwick needs to have faith in Marcus Smith'

England yet again fluffed their lines against the All Blacks when they had built a comfortable lead and questions are being asked

Comments on RugbyPass

J
JWH 16 minutes ago
Scott Robertson responds to criticism over All Blacks' handling errors

Nah, that just needs some more variation. Chip kicks, grubber stabs, all those. Will Jordan showed a pretty good reason why the rush was bad for his link up with BB.


If you have an overlap on a rush defense, they naturally cover out and out and leave a huge gap near the ruck.


It also helps if both teams play the same rules. ARs set the offside line 1m past where the last mans feet were😅

28 Go to comments
J
JW 25 minutes ago
'Freelancer' Izaia Perese shows the need for true inclusivity in Australian rugby

Yeah nar, should work for sure. I was just asking why would you do it that way?


It could be achieved by outsourcing all your IP and players to New Zealand, Japan, and America, with a big Super competition between those countries raking it in with all of Australia's best talent to help them at a club level. When there is enough of a following and players coming through internally, and from other international countries (starting out like Australia/without a pro scene), for these high profile clubs to compete without a heavy australian base, then RA could use all the money they'd saved over the decades to turn things around at home and fund 4 super sides of their own that would be good enough to compete.


That sounds like a great model to reset the game in Aus. Take a couple of decades to invest in youth and community networks before trying to become professional again. I just suggest most aussies would be a bit more optimistic they can make it work without the two decades without any pro club rugby bit.

79 Go to comments
B
Bull Shark 1 hour ago
England internationals disagree on final play execution vs All Blacks

Good point

7 Go to comments
B
Bull Shark 1 hour ago
Scott Robertson responds to criticism over All Blacks' handling errors

That would work too.

28 Go to comments
M
MakeOllieMathisAnAB 1 hour ago
Scott Robertson responds to criticism over All Blacks' handling errors

Riley Higgins incoming.

28 Go to comments
O
Oh no, not him again? 1 hour ago
England internationals disagree on final play execution vs All Blacks

You don't win anything if you don't back yourself. If a South African said that, people would just accept it as their psyche. I think you'd expect Ben to bring that to a team with his experience. England lacked the experience and the bench to close out the match. IMO anyway.

7 Go to comments
O
Oh no, not him again? 2 hours ago
England internationals disagree on final play execution vs All Blacks

Okay, so we blew it big time on Saturday. So rather than repeating what most people have all ready said, what do I want to see from Borthwick going forward?


Let's keep Marcus Smith on the pitch if he's fit and playing well. I was really pleased with his goal kicking. It used to be his weakness. I feel sympathy for George Ford who hadn't kicked all match and then had a kick to win the game. You hear pundits and commentators commend kickers who have come off the bench and pulled that off. Its not easy. If Steve B continues to substitute players with no clear reason then he is going to get criticised.


On paper I thought England would beat NZ if they played to their potential and didn't show NZ too much respect. Okay, the off the ball tackles certainly stopped England scoring tries, but I would have liked to see more smashing over gainlines and less kicking for position. Yes, I also know it's the Springbok endorsed world cup double winning formula but the Kiwi defence isn't the Bok defence, is it. If you have the power to put Smith on the front foot then why muzzle him? I guess what I'm saying is back, yourself. Why give the momentum to a team like NZ? Why feed the beast? Don't give the ball to NZ. Well d'uh.


Our scrum is a long term weakness. If you are going to play Itoje then he needs an ogre next door and a decent front row. Where is our third world class lock? Where are are realible front row bench replacements? The England scrum has been flakey for a while now. It blows hot and cold. Our front five bench is not world class.


On the positive side I love our starting backrow right now. I'd like to see them stick together through to the next world cup.


Anyway, there is always another Saturday.

7 Go to comments
M
MakeOllieMathisAnAB 2 hours ago
All Blacks talk late-game adjustments after clutch England win

Which 2 backs make the bench?


BB being injured has kind of made things complicated.


Rueban Love is the most like-for-like, covers 10 and 15….. but 10 in a test?


Plummer would be safer option for first five cover, also covers 12.


Then ALB covers 12-13.


I think the sensible choice would be Plummer and ALB, but I’d rather see Plummer and Rubes.

That might be a bit much for a test this size but if they lit it up it would be one hell of a story.

Leaves our midfield too light for cover though.


Front row could be interesting. Ofa in my opinion is too important to leave out at the moment and needs to be on the rimu.

Mighty Temaiti will be better off for last weekends experience, he offered more around the field than DeGroot has in his last few games.

9 Go to comments
C
CO 2 hours ago
Scott Robertson responds to criticism over All Blacks' handling errors

Robertson is more a manager of coaches than a coach so it comes down to intent of outcomes at a high level. I like his intent, I like the fact his Allblacks are really driving the outcomes however as he's pointed out the high error rates are not test level and their control of the game is driving both wins and losses. England didn't have to play a lot of rugby, they made far fewer mistakes and were extremely unlucky not to win.


In fact the English team were very early in their season and should've been comfortably beaten by an Allblacks team that had played multiple tests together.


Razor has himself recognised that to be the best they'll have to sort out the crisis levels of mistakes that have really increased since the first two tests against England.


Early tackles were a classic example of hyper enthusiasm to not give an inch, that passion that Razor has achieved is going to be formidable once the unforced errors are eliminated.


That's his secret, he's already rebuilt the passion and that's the most important aspect, its inevitable that he'll now eradicate the unforced errors. When that happens a fellow tier one nation is going to get thrashed. I don't think it will be until 2025 though.


The Allblacks will lose both tests against Ireland and France if they play high error rates rugby like they did against England.


To get the unforced errors under control he's going to be needing to handover the number eight role to Sititi and reset expectations of what loose forwards do. Establish a clear distinction with a large, swarthy lineout jumper at six that is a feared runner and dominant tackler and a turnover specialist at seven that is abrasive in contact. He'll then need to build depth behind the three starters and ruthlessly select for that group to be peaking in 2027 in hit Australian conditions on firm, dry grounds.


It's going to help him that Savea is shifting to the worst super rugby franchise where he's going to struggle behind a beaten pack every week.


The under performing loose forward trio is the key driver of the high error rates and unacceptable turn overs due to awol link work. Sititi is looking like he's superman compared to his openside and eight.


At this late stage in the season they shouldn't be operating with just the one outstanding loose forward out of four selected for the English test. That's an abject failure but I think Robertson's sacrificing link quality on purpose to build passion amongst the junior Allblacks as they see the reverential treatment the old warhorses are receiving for their long term hard graft.


It's unfortunately losing test matches and making what should be comfortable wins into nail biters but it's early in the world cup cycle so perhaps it's a sacrifice worth making.


However if this was F1 then Sam Cane would be Riccardo and Ardie would be heading into Perez territory so the loose forwards desperately need revitalisation through a rebuild over the next season to complement the formidable tight five.

28 Go to comments
B
BM 2 hours ago
All Blacks lose Beauden Barrett and Codie Taylor for Ireland Test

Billy Proctor is on way to welcome his first child in NZ !

26 Go to comments
A
Alex 2 hours ago
Borthwick, it's time to own up – Andy Goode

It is getting really frustrating with some of the selection calls. Have been willing for some time now to give SB the benefit of the doubt, but they just felt like real schoolboy errors tbh. England did better than I thought they would given it's a first hit-out, but their back three and pack must be so frustrated with just not getting enough quality ball from the centres. Clearly Alex Mitchell is missed, and a creative centre is needed, which has been the issue for a loooooooong time now.

18 Go to comments
J
JN 2 hours ago
How the All Blacks plan to challenge Ireland after gutsy England win

I may be wrong, but Blackadder is at home in NZ recovering from injury.

11 Go to comments
P
Phillip 2 hours ago
Dropped Wallaby Tom Lynagh stars as Queensland Reds beat Wild Knights

He is. He travelled with the Reds to Japan, now I imagine he'll be linking up with the Australian XV. If he hasn't already.

2 Go to comments
H
Head high tackle 2 hours ago
All Blacks talk late-game adjustments after clutch England win

Ratima would have never faced a rush defence like that and he did it in the hardest environment. He will have learnt a lot from that and to say Roigard, who came on when the teams were stuffed. was better is a bit much really. If Roigard had started it would have been the opposite.

9 Go to comments
H
Head high tackle 2 hours ago
All Blacks talk late-game adjustments after clutch England win

Sorry but if Dmac didnt delay, run, then pass the England winger is in on Jordan and Jordan gets tackled with the ball. Id happily say that Dmacs little hesitation, run and pass was 50% of that try. Without it the try doesnt happen, but even with it Jordan still had to get it right and he did.

9 Go to comments
H
Head high tackle 2 hours ago
All Blacks talk late-game adjustments after clutch England win

Dmac has the best catch and pass in the game. That split second delay was the key as it meant the winger had to stay put out wider and it gave WJ time to get that final pass away with only 1 tackler on him. Both passes perfect.

9 Go to comments
J
JWH 2 hours ago
Would a Springboks B team really conquer the world?

I would put Ireland a lot lower than that, they have no depth whatsoever.

31 Go to comments
H
Head high tackle 2 hours ago
Scott Robertson responds to criticism over All Blacks' handling errors

I get sick of the 12 being a battering ram. NZ did much better when ALB was at 12 against Aus with JB out injured. Id like to see the old 12 being selected. The one who had guile and tactical kicking, had passing down pat and could sidestep players.

28 Go to comments
N
NM 2 hours ago
How the All Blacks plan to challenge Ireland after gutsy England win

It was a very gutsy win against England. There has been lots of negative comment about 'lucky escapes' & England losing by 'the width of a goal post'. Yes, this is all true but conversely nothing has been said about the AB's scoring 3 tries to one, & this could easily have been 5 to 1 had it not been for a PT dropped catch or a CC fingertip knock on! An unusually high penalty count also gifted the poms 15 easy points. What if's are meaningless, history only remembers the score board. With just a little more patience, discipline, & accuracy this evolving AB's team will be #1 again!

11 Go to comments
H
Head high tackle 2 hours ago
Scott Robertson responds to criticism over All Blacks' handling errors

Do you want them to play as professionally as England and lose? Im very happy with the way they are trying to play. In that last match they score if Sititi gets his pass right, If Clarke could have linked better with one of his runs and if Ioane's offload had gone to hand also. 11 test in to a completely new playing system, coaching system, player selections etc... Im pleased so far and cant wait till they get better at what they are doing.

28 Go to comments
LONG READ
LONG READ England need to face a few home truths if they are to relearn that winning habit England need to face a few home truths if they are to relearn that winning habit
Search