JAMES McNABNEY HAS walked a different path to many of his new Ireland teammates. For a start, growing up, the Ulster man “didn’t watch a lot of rugby.”
He played the game, but even then, was something of a latecomer, with horse riding the primary pursuit for much of his youth.
“I didn’t touch a rugby ball until I went to Cambridge House, a grammar school in Ballymena,” McNabney explains.
“And that was my first time when I was in Year 8, so I don’t know, you’re about 11 years of age when you started school. That was the first time we’d play rugby.
“I was probably slightly bigger, taller than some of the other kids, and I had aggression, determination, things transferred from the horses. I didn’t really take to it like a duck to water, but I did enjoy it straight away. I definitely liked it.”
In another life, the horses may have become McNabney’s chosen sporting path.
McNabbey was speaking to the media in Abbotstown this week. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
“I was probably better at horse riding for a while until the rugby got better. I rode horses up until I was about 16, and then I had to make the decision to put on weight and give up the horses.
“And yeah, it was an easy enough decision. I was getting to the end of that. I was looking for something different.”
In his teens, McNabney competed in the Mounted Games, “like agility on a pony,” he explains to the uninitiated.
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“In Mounted Games they can go up to like 14.3, 14.2-hand ponies. So it’s nearly just on the edge of becoming a horse. Done that for Northern Ireland and represented Great Britain in that too.
“I went to Royal Windsor Horseshoe when I was maybe 14, 15, and that was Northern Ireland, and then I went to America for an international Mounted Games exchange when I was 15/16.”
The back row grew up with a farming background, and still holds that part of his life close to his heart.
“Farming is like my game of golf when I get a down day. I like to go and farm.”
McNabney previously represented Ireland at U20 level. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
He hopes to one day follow in the footsteps of his father, Howard, and grandfather, James, by becoming the third generation of McNabney to take over the family farm, which lies north of Ballymena.
And while he was late to rugby, the former Ireland U20 player acknowledges that the work involved played a part in honing his physical profile.
“It was either horses or farming (growing up). So there was exercise in all aspects of it. But the odd time in the summer we had to shear sheep. And if anyone’s ever sheared sheep, they know exactly what that entails. It’s not easy.
“But, no, there’s not every day you’re doing work on a farm; some days you’re driving, some days you’re lifting things. It’s all different. There’s a variety of work, which is nice about it.”
In late summer, Andy Farrell gathered a group of around 50 players for a one-day camp in Abbotstown, giving McNabney an indication that he was on the radar. He was knocking, and the door opened as other back rows fell out of contention through injury.
“I knew Jack Conan had picked up an injury. I knew that Caelan Dorris was injured, and I was like, well, if there’s a time to get an opportunity, maybe it’s now. You look at your phone, hoping for an email, but at the same time, if it doesn’t come, you just keep working hard, and hopefully the next time it comes around.”
There were days when such a call felt a lifetime away. The Ulster man missed the entire 2025/26 season with an ACL injury, going under the knife in June 2025.
“I was just in training, and I sidestepped, planted hard with a leg, and I just heard the pop and that was it.”
The back row missed all of last season through injury. Nick Elliott / INPHO
Nick Elliott / INPHO / INPHO
The recovery was slower than he would have liked, but McNabney has made a promising start to the new season, making one start across four appearances for Ulster. A relatively small sample size, but enough to squeeze him into Farrell’s 36-man November squad.
“I would absolutely love it if I could get the opportunity, but there’s no guarantee that I’m in here and I’m going to get capped.
“I know that for definite. I’m going to have to work hard to hopefully get an opportunity, and if it comes, that would be absolutely great. And yeah, it would be a dream come true. That’s sort of where, every time at home, you’d watch Ireland playing and you just think, could you get to that stage?
“Up until lately, like, I’m only 23, so you don’t know if that’s achievable and different things. And then, previous to the ACL, you get picked for camp, like, “This is maybe on my radar, I could play for Ireland”, and then [gets injured], now I’ve actually been picked in the squad. Hopefully time will tell, and we’ll see how we go, but I’m not saying anything too soon.”
And for those only getting to know McNabney in Abbotstown, his eight Ulster teammates in camp will surely bring them up to speed on his nickname, ‘horse’.
“Back when Dan McFarland was Ulster’s head coach, he gave me an opportunity against Glasgow. There was a ball come out over the top of the lineout, and I caught it and was running up the pitch, and typically the way I run, I run with high knees.
“And he said that I looked like a big old horse when I was running up the pitch, and it’s stuck ever since then. And that’s how I’ve been called Horse.”
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Ulster's McNabney on farming, horse riding, and his Ireland ambitions
JAMES McNABNEY HAS walked a different path to many of his new Ireland teammates. For a start, growing up, the Ulster man “didn’t watch a lot of rugby.”
He played the game, but even then, was something of a latecomer, with horse riding the primary pursuit for much of his youth.
“I didn’t touch a rugby ball until I went to Cambridge House, a grammar school in Ballymena,” McNabney explains.
“And that was my first time when I was in Year 8, so I don’t know, you’re about 11 years of age when you started school. That was the first time we’d play rugby.
“I was probably slightly bigger, taller than some of the other kids, and I had aggression, determination, things transferred from the horses. I didn’t really take to it like a duck to water, but I did enjoy it straight away. I definitely liked it.”
In another life, the horses may have become McNabney’s chosen sporting path.
“I was probably better at horse riding for a while until the rugby got better. I rode horses up until I was about 16, and then I had to make the decision to put on weight and give up the horses.
“And yeah, it was an easy enough decision. I was getting to the end of that. I was looking for something different.”
In his teens, McNabney competed in the Mounted Games, “like agility on a pony,” he explains to the uninitiated.
“In Mounted Games they can go up to like 14.3, 14.2-hand ponies. So it’s nearly just on the edge of becoming a horse. Done that for Northern Ireland and represented Great Britain in that too.
“I went to Royal Windsor Horseshoe when I was maybe 14, 15, and that was Northern Ireland, and then I went to America for an international Mounted Games exchange when I was 15/16.”
The back row grew up with a farming background, and still holds that part of his life close to his heart.
“Farming is like my game of golf when I get a down day. I like to go and farm.”
He hopes to one day follow in the footsteps of his father, Howard, and grandfather, James, by becoming the third generation of McNabney to take over the family farm, which lies north of Ballymena.
And while he was late to rugby, the former Ireland U20 player acknowledges that the work involved played a part in honing his physical profile.
“It was either horses or farming (growing up). So there was exercise in all aspects of it. But the odd time in the summer we had to shear sheep. And if anyone’s ever sheared sheep, they know exactly what that entails. It’s not easy.
“But, no, there’s not every day you’re doing work on a farm; some days you’re driving, some days you’re lifting things. It’s all different. There’s a variety of work, which is nice about it.”
All these years later, fresh from signing a new Ulster contract, he’s in an Ireland camp hoping to win his first cap in the upcoming November Tests.
In late summer, Andy Farrell gathered a group of around 50 players for a one-day camp in Abbotstown, giving McNabney an indication that he was on the radar. He was knocking, and the door opened as other back rows fell out of contention through injury.
“I knew Jack Conan had picked up an injury. I knew that Caelan Dorris was injured, and I was like, well, if there’s a time to get an opportunity, maybe it’s now. You look at your phone, hoping for an email, but at the same time, if it doesn’t come, you just keep working hard, and hopefully the next time it comes around.”
There were days when such a call felt a lifetime away. The Ulster man missed the entire 2025/26 season with an ACL injury, going under the knife in June 2025.
“I was just in training, and I sidestepped, planted hard with a leg, and I just heard the pop and that was it.”
The recovery was slower than he would have liked, but McNabney has made a promising start to the new season, making one start across four appearances for Ulster. A relatively small sample size, but enough to squeeze him into Farrell’s 36-man November squad.
“I know that for definite. I’m going to have to work hard to hopefully get an opportunity, and if it comes, that would be absolutely great. And yeah, it would be a dream come true. That’s sort of where, every time at home, you’d watch Ireland playing and you just think, could you get to that stage?
“Up until lately, like, I’m only 23, so you don’t know if that’s achievable and different things. And then, previous to the ACL, you get picked for camp, like, “This is maybe on my radar, I could play for Ireland”, and then [gets injured], now I’ve actually been picked in the squad. Hopefully time will tell, and we’ll see how we go, but I’m not saying anything too soon.”
And for those only getting to know McNabney in Abbotstown, his eight Ulster teammates in camp will surely bring them up to speed on his nickname, ‘horse’.
“Back when Dan McFarland was Ulster’s head coach, he gave me an opportunity against Glasgow. There was a ball come out over the top of the lineout, and I caught it and was running up the pitch, and typically the way I run, I run with high knees.
“And he said that I looked like a big old horse when I was running up the pitch, and it’s stuck ever since then. And that’s how I’ve been called Horse.”
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