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United Rugby Championship

James Ryan to stay in Ireland beyond World Cup after signing new deal

By Josh Raisey

13 hours ago

James Ryan during an Ireland Rugby squad training session at The Campus in Quinta da Lago, Portugal. (Photo By Seb Daly/Sportsfile via Getty Images)

Ireland and Leinster lock James Ryan has signed a new deal with the Irish Rugby Football Union until the end of the 2027/28 season.

The deal will see the 28-year-old remain in Ireland beyond the 2027 World Cup, where he will be hoping to erase the heartbreak of the 2019 and 2023 campaigns.

Ryan now has 67 caps to his name after making his Test debut in 2017 as a 20-year-old against the United States. The lock’s Test debut curiously came before he had made an appearance for Leinster, the province he has gone on to make 89 appearances for.

Ryan co-captained Leinster last season alongside Garry Ringrose as they were runners-up in the Investec Champions Cup for the third straight year, and lost in the semi-finals of the United Rugby Championship. With Leinster unbeaten so far this year, they will be looking to end their mini trophy drought.

The lock has also captained his country and remains a mainstay in Andy Farrell’s squads.

Fixture

United Rugby Championship

Leinster

11:30

21 Dec 24

Connacht

All Stats and Data

“I am delighted to sign a new contract with Leinster and commit my long-term future to the IRFU,” Ryan said.

“Playing in ambitious set-ups is a big driver for me personally and I know how committed everyone in Irish Rugby is to work hard and achieve success. It is a privilege to play for my home province and my country and, with the talent coming through the Academy systems, I am excited about what the future holds in blue and green.”

IRFU performance director David Humphreys added: “James has been a mainstay of the Leinster and Ireland engine rooms over the last number of seasons, and it is a huge boost for both teams that he will continue his rugby career in Ireland.

“James has displayed consistency and talent for many years which, allied to his leadership skills, means that Ireland has successfully retained another important player within our system. We believe that James’ best years are ahead of him and look forward to watching him progress in the seasons to come.”

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Comments on RugbyPass

AlanP 22 minutes ago

‘The problem with this year’s Champions Cup? Too many English clubs’

I need to dig through and check your comments 😀.

However, I have a problem with rewarding the 6 Nations winner because of the URC. It works perfectly fine for England and France, but how would it be fair for an extra South African club to be there because Ireland won the 6 nations?

Then I guess you can say that the extra club should come from the country who won the 6 nations but then it's unfair for the South African teams. Plus, if we imagine Scotland won the 6 Nations and both Glasgow & Edinburgh finished in the top 4 of URC, what do we do with extra spot?

But again, you may have already thought of that, and I need to do some comments digging 😉

37 Go to comments

OJohn 1 hour ago

Does the next Wallabies coach have to be an Australian?

Kiwi Joe refuses to put our best team on the field. Nick Bishop is telling you that not just me.

25 Go to comments

Jon 1 hour ago

Does the next Wallabies coach have to be an Australian?

Another good article Nick, and yes the similarities between RA and the WRU are so obvious you would think they have been swapping class notes.

It is clear that the problems in both Australia and Wales are structural and go way beyond who is the Head Coach and his place of birth.

What ever imminent decision is made in Wales about the Head Coach, Gatland has still got enough credit in the bank to be seen as an adopted Welshman.

And a far as leaving the team in a better place than he found it. .....Eddie set the bar so low that Joe cannot fail and whatever happens with the Lions Tour any sane Wallabies fan can see that he is taking the team forward.

25 Go to comments

dw 1 hour ago

Does the next Wallabies coach have to be an Australian?

I aspire to coach Australia, but I'm not qualified and I'd be terrible. Dan and Les I assume are aspiring to coach Australia AND probably will one day. But they aren't ready yet. And Joe is the best fit for now. What's so hard to accept about that? Breathe in son. Kiwi Joe does not mean you harm.

25 Go to comments

dw 1 hour ago

Does the next Wallabies coach have to be an Australian?

Nah mate. Tell us about the real trauma they did to you. It's not possible for someone to be this angry obsessed with a sports team without a nasty incident. Did they not pick you when you tried out for them? Does Ewens time at randwick and the tahs complicate your theory?

25 Go to comments

dw 1 hour ago

Does the next Wallabies coach have to be an Australian?

Deans won a rugby championship and made a rwc semi-final.

25 Go to comments

OJohn 1 hour ago

Does the next Wallabies coach have to be an Australian?

They have been screwing over Australian rugby since Deans in 2008. Any fair minded Australian rugby fan would be pissed off too.

25 Go to comments

OJohn 1 hour ago

Does the next Wallabies coach have to be an Australian?

Deans didn't resign. He was sacked by the ARU because after 6 long years as Wallabies coach, playing Tah favorites, and Australians having almost completely lost interest in rugby due to Deans' Tah favoritism and bumbling, the Wallabies were a complete and utter shambles of a team. We fell back from being ranked 2 to about 5 I think.

He started well on the back of John Connollys nauseatingly boring coaching but it was downhill soon after. Deans came close to destroying Australian rugby. Kiwis wanted him to keep coaching the Wallabies forever and were outraged at his sacking. Just absurd.

25 Go to comments

IN 1 hour ago

‘The problem with this year’s Champions Cup? Too many English clubs’

also never let rugby pass tv do u20 broadcast not on youtube again , with the chat it was boring as hell! i wouldnt pay for that shite!, idiots didnt even start youtube broadcast on time, please make it back on youtube not this ameteur hour cock up!

37 Go to comments

IN 1 hour ago

‘The problem with this year’s Champions Cup? Too many English clubs’

what you say is true , 16 teams expanded to 4 qualifiers from earlier challenge cup rounds, but either way you are asking teams to lose money by not playing! for some clubs this is much needed income! so how do you reward them for loss income?

37 Go to comments

Jon 2 hours ago

Does the next Wallabies coach have to be an Australian?

OJohn....How about you keep your crass comment about the rugby or the politics. Commenting on anyones family or personal circumstances is way out of order and you should be removed from this site for doing so.

25 Go to comments

JW 2 hours ago

‘The problem with this year’s Champions Cup? Too many English clubs’

possible for a team to literally finish last in the URC

Huh? You mean last in their (4 team) pools/regions? My idea was 6/5/4, 6 the max, for guarenteed spots, with a 20 team comp max, so upto 5 WCs (which you'd make/or would be theoretically impossible to go to one league (they'd likely be solely for its participants, say 'Wales', rather than URC specifically. Preferrably). I gave 3 WC ideas for a 18 team comp, so the max URC could have (with a member union or club/team, winning all of the 6N, and Champions and Challenge Cup).

And the reason say another URC (for example) member would get the spot over the other team that won the Challenge Cup, would be because they were arguable better if they finished higher in the League. It won't diminish desire to win the Challenge Cup, because that team may still be competing for that seed, and if theyre automatic qual anyway, it still might make them treat it more seriously (major problem with the comp/concept atm as teams use it as a trial match for the squad, especially if they think theyre going to qualify normally that year).

what does base mean in this context? how would it be quantified?

A theoretical evaluation of the leagues. By all sorts of means, performance, representation, financials etc. All to be discussed and decide of course (my numbers could turn out completely wrong), so enjoying your critique of such ideas.

37 Go to comments

OJohn 2 hours ago

Does the next Wallabies coach have to be an Australian?

That's right, keep those Australian coaches down. How dare they aspire to coach Australia. It must be a kiwi !

25 Go to comments

dw 2 hours ago

Does the next Wallabies coach have to be an Australian?

What exactly did the tahs do to you in your childhood? I've never seen someone's thoughts so dominated by a sports team they dislike. Wait, are you secretly working for the tahs by making them sound more appealing?

25 Go to comments

dw 2 hours ago

Does the next Wallabies coach have to be an Australian?

O John, you are absolutely right. I think you should email Phil Waugh and tell him to hire the non existent 2024 version of Rod Macqueen so the wallabies can go straight to number 1. You are the true voice of rugby in Australia with your satire.