National - Ulster Rugby Forum

Nations Championship Squad

DS69 — Tue, 20 Oct 2026 21:48:07 +0000

Squad due to be announced tomorrow.

Surely will get called:

Tom O'Toole, Timoney (apperantly list as an option to cover hooker on the official teamsheets), Stewart, Izuchukwu, McCloskey, Baloucoune, Stockdale, Doak

Maybe get called:

McCann- has been be playing great but keeps getting over looked, if not now can't seeing it happening in the world cup cycle
Benson - has been good for Ulster out of postion, has was training with Ireland over the summer
Murphy - not playing his best, but the 3rd out half place it up for grabs with Crowley And Byrne injured, but hes up against O’Shea, Casper ( out side chance of Carbery) and even Benson
Bryn Ward - depends on how far of he is from injury, also lots of competition in the back row

Jack Crowley ruled out until the new year with injury

DS69 — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 12:29:19 +0000

Hes been out injured for a while already right? Doesn't sound good for him, and not good for Ireland with the world cup next year. Not great relying on just Prendergast and Frawley ( but at least Frawley will get more game time at fly half for Connacht this season)

Good opportunity for Murphy get into the squad if he starts the well this season (and will have to with Benson looking for his place on the team)

Munster now have JJ as the main fly half for this season which, no harm to him, I'm not envious about. This season looks tuff for them...... so they will probably go on and win the URC

New Zealand vs Ireland 18th July 8:10am

DS69 — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 11:33:57 +0000

15. Hugo Keenan
14. Robert Baloucoune
13. Garry Ringrose
12. Stuart McCloskey
11. Jimmy O’Brien
10. Sam Prendergast
9. Jamison Gibson-Park

1. Tom O’Toole
2. Dan Sheehan (captain)
3. Tadhg Furlong
4. Joe McCarthy
5. James Ryan
6. Tadhg Beirne
7. Josh van der Flier
8. Jack Conan

Replacements:

16. Rónan Kelleher
17. Jeremy Loughman
18. Thomas Clarkson
19. Nick Timoney
20. Sean Jansen
21. Craig Casey
22. Ciarán Frawley
23. Bundee Aki

No real surprises there. good to see Baloucoune back in the team, so hopfully he will start this time. don't think any of the ulster players can complain about not getting selected, no-one really put their hand up, stockdale was quiet, doak got very little time. Timoney had a good shout to start, hes been playing really well.

Japan vs Ireland Saturday 11 July

forestial — Fri, 10 Jul 2026 03:16:00 +0000

Ireland (v Japan):

15. Jamie Osborne (Naas/Leinster)(16)
14. Jimmy O’Brien (Naas/Leinster)(12)
13. Robbie Henshaw (Buccaneers/Leinster)(84)
12. Stuart McCloskey (Bangor/Ulster)(29)
11. Jacob Stockdale (Lurgan/Ulster)(42)
10. Ciaran Frawley (UCD/Leinster)(13)
9. Craig Casey (Shannon/Munster)(28)

1. Tom O’Toole (Ballynahinch/Ulster)(22)
2. Rónan Kelleher (Lansdowne/Leinster)(49)
3. Thomas Clarkson (Blackrock College/Leinster)(14)
4. Tadhg Beirne (Lansdowne/Munster)(71)(captain)
5. James Ryan (UCD/Leinster)(81)
6. Jack Conan (Old Belvedere/Leinster)(60)
7. Nick Timoney (Queen’s University/Ulster)(12)
8. Sean Jansen (Connacht)*

Replacements:

16. Tom Stewart (Ballynahinch/Ulster)(5)
17. Billy Bohan (Corinthians/Connacht)*
18. Sam Illo (Buccaneers/Connacht)*
19. Cormac Izuchukwu (Ballynahinch/Ulster)(4)
20. Bryn Ward (Ballynahinch/Ulster)*
21. Nathan Doak (Banbridge/Ulster)(1)
22. Harry Byrne (Lansdowne/Leinster)(4)
23. Bundee Aki (Galwegians/Connacht)(70)

Eight Ulster players! Hopefully the ones on the bench get a decent slice of game time. Fantastic to see Bryn Ward here particularly on his first cap.

Australia vs Ireland (KO 11.10am)

DS69 — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 08:53:13 +0000

Ireland (v Australia):

15.⁠ ⁠Hugo Keenan
14.⁠ ⁠Rob Baloucoune
13.⁠ ⁠Garry Ringrose
12.⁠ ⁠Stuart McCloskey
11.⁠ ⁠Jamie Osborne
10.⁠ ⁠Sam Prendergast
9.⁠ ⁠Jamison Gibson-Park

1.⁠ ⁠Tom O’Toole
2.⁠ ⁠Dan Sheehan (captain)
3.⁠ ⁠Tadhg Furlong
4.⁠ ⁠Joe McCarthy
5.⁠ ⁠James Ryan
6.⁠ ⁠Cian Prendergast
7.⁠ ⁠Josh van der Flier
8.⁠ ⁠Jack Conan

Replacements:

16.⁠ ⁠Rónan Kelleher
17.⁠ ⁠Jeremy Loughman
18.⁠ ⁠Thomas Clarkson
19.⁠ ⁠Tadhg Beirne
20.⁠ ⁠Nick Timoney
21.⁠ ⁠Craig Casey
22.⁠ ⁠Ciaran Frawley
23.⁠ ⁠Bundee Aki

Referee: Ben O’Keeffe .

Stockdale does not make the squad, with lowe gone and Tommy injured and he still can't make the team, you think that his international career as good as over.

U20 squad for the World Championship in Georgia

forestial — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 16:19:47 +0000

https://ulster.rugby/content/ireland-mens-u20s-squad-for-2026-world-rugby-junior-world-championship-in-georgia
Just three Ulster players in this one (next year maybe a bigger year for us, based on this year’s U19s). Interesting to see Paddy Woods picked as he’s only quite recently arrived from Australia.

Ireland Summer Squad

forestial — Sun, 10 May 2026 19:28:25 +0000

I wonder if the likes of Jude Postlethwaite and Bryn Ward will have a chance of being picked for the July tests against Australia/Japan/New Zealand. Both have been getting a decent amount of game time recently, and playing really well. But maybe Farrell isn’t thinking about adding much to the squad with the World Cup only 18 months away. Also remains to be seen whether they treat this Nations Cup thing as “must win” games or are willing to experiment a bit.

Stuart McCloskey makes four-man shortlist for Six Nations Player of the Championship

DS69 — Fri, 20 Mar 2026 11:50:04 +0000

Ireland’s Stuart McCloskey, 33, earns a deserved nomination following a series of powerful and influential displays in midfield, providing leadership and impact at key moments throughout the Championship, that helped Ireland claim this year's Triple Crown, and put them within touching distance of this year's title....

Try Assist: 6 - Ranked joint 1st

Defenders beaten: 20 - Joint 2nd

Carries: 74 - Ranked 3rd

Dominant contacts: 18 - Ranked 1st (31% dominant)

Tackle attempts: 79 - Ranked 8th (Highest back)

Tackles completed: 62 - 10th (Highest back)

Turnovers won: 8 - Joint 1st (Highest back)

Minutes played: 400 - Ranked joint 1st

Metres carried: 242 - Ranked 11th

Successful offloads: 8 - Ranked 5th

Oval Insights ranking: 8.6/10 - Ranked first

The winner will be determined by a public vote, here, which closes on Thursday, March 26th, at 9am.

Bielle-Biarrey will most likely get it, but I would love for Stu to get it

Ireland Vs Scotland Saturday (KO: 14:10)

DS69 — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 15:10:23 +0000

We know Cormac Izuchukwu, Jude Postlethwaite, and Bryn Ward won’t be involved.

From Ulster I’d expect:

Baloucoune – certain
McCloskey – certain
Tom O'Toole – certain
Timoney – probably on the bench

I can't see Doak or Tom Stewart making the matchday 23 , which leaves Stockdale.

What will Farrell do on the left wing?

Which Ulster players do you think make the squad?

Ireland Vs Wales (KO: 20:10)

DS69 — Tue, 03 Mar 2026 10:54:10 +0000

Will Stuart McCloskey stay as the starting center or will he be given a break now that Aki is back?
Will Stockdale get in now that Lowe is injured or will an out of position Tommy O’Brien take that place.
Surely Baloucoune keeps his place
Is it too early for Bryn Ward to get his first cap? but would that be at Timoney's expense?
Looks like Izuchukwu is out with a head injury
Does Doak get a look in?