IN SOME WAYS, Ireland’s team selection for this weekend’s Nations Championship clash with Japan will be the most interesting of the year.
It isn’t the highest-profile or highest-stakes game of 2026 for Ireland, but Andy Farrell has plenty to weigh up.
He is due to name his match-day 23 early on Thursday morning Irish time.
Does he stick with most of the team who beat the Wallabies in Sydney on Saturday, giving them the chance to build more momentum before taking on the All Blacks the following weekend?
Or does he twist and give his wider touring squad chances to impress? There are five uncapped players in the Ireland group who would love a first taste of Test rugby, as well as longer-serving squad members who will have hoped for a start against Japan.
Ireland have been on-message about respecting Japan, all the more so after their win over Italy in Tokyo last weekend, yet Eddie Jones’ Brave Blossoms are the lowest-ranked team that Ireland will face this year.
2027 seems unlikely to be the time for experimenting and depth-building as the World Cup looms, so this game against Japan and the November clash with Fiji back in Dublin seem like the best opportunities to test the depth charts.
The likelihood is that Farrell will find a balance between going for senior men and bringing in fresher faces.
“We’ve brought the younger players over here to see what they’re made of, so we’ll see,” is how Ireland assistant coach John Fogarty put it.
“There always has to be a balance because it’s a Test match and it’s against an organised team with a good scrum that are well-coached.”
The picture at loosehead prop is clear, given that Jeremy Loughman has been ruled out of this game and Ireland have not called up a replacement.
20-year-old Connacht man Billy Bohan is set to cap a remarkable rise by getting his debut, most likely off the Irish bench as Tom O’Toole starts again in the number one shirt.
Dan Sheehan is the tour captain, but Rónan Kelleher has been in flying form, and it would seem like ideal timing to give him the start at hooker given that he is set for his 50th international cap this weekend.
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Rónan Kelleher is in good form. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
“There is, and there should be,” said Fogarty of the competition to start at hooker between Sheehan and Kelleher. “They’re different players, but they have huge qualities that they can offer massively to the team.
“I guess Leinster saw that when they were facing the Bulls [in the URC final]. They decided to go with Rónan to start and then have Dan to finish.
“I mean, Dan must be a nightmare for teams coming off the bench and his ability to move quickly, his ability to get through contact, etc. So we’ve got two world-class hookers.”
Tighthead prop will be interesting, with Fogarty full of praise for 25-year-old uncapped Connacht man Sam Illo. Including Illo would mean resting one of Tadhg Furlong and Thomas Clarkson ahead of the All Blacks clash.
Illo pushed into the squad ahead of his experienced Connacht team-mate Finlay Bealham, although Fogarty stressed that the 34-year-old is still in their thoughts.
“We’ve got a world-class tighthead in Finlay, in my opinion, at scrum time,” said Fogarty. “He’s world-class. We know he’s there and it’s a tough one. It’s a tough one to say, ‘Let’s leave Finlay here and let’s bring this kid.’
“But growing the depth, backing him on the back of a good season, that’s what we wanted to do, and he’s been great so far.”
Farrell has good options in the second row, with Tadhg Beirne pushing for a start after coming off the bench and taking over the captaincy last weekend against the Wallabies. James Ryan and Joe McCarthy are in good form, while Connacht’s Darragh Murray would love a chance to win his fourth cap after getting a Six Nations debut this year.
Openside flanker Nick Timoney made yet another big impact off the bench against Australia and arguably deserves a start, even if Josh van der Flier continues to perform in this position.
Cian Prendergast was at blindside on Saturday, but Farrell has other options in this role in the explosive Cormac Izuchukwu, Beirne and Jack Conan, who was crucial at number eight against the Wallabies.
The other two number eights in this squad are Connacht’s uncapped Sean Jansen, who the Irish coaches were keen to have a closer look at, and Ulster’s 21-year-old Bryn Ward, who has been impressing with his exuberance and aggression in training.
Craig Casey would have been gutted not to get off the bench in the win over Australia, so a starting chance for him against Japan would make sense, giving Jamison Gibson-Park a chance to freshen up for the clash with his native New Zealand. Ulster scrum-half Nathan Doak is another who would like to build on his promising debut in the Six Nations.
As ever, the number 10 shirt is an area of intrigue. Does Farrell back Sam Prendergast to build on a good performance against the Wallabies? The Kildare man would certainly like to keep his momentum going.
Ciarán Frawley has started one Test for Ireland and it was at fullback. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
Or do Ireland give Ciarán Frawley the chance to start a Test at out-half for the first time ever?
In fact, Frawley has only started one of his 13 caps so far, and that was at fullback against Wales in the 2024 Six Nations. All of his 12 other Ireland appearances have been off the bench.
As he gets set to join Connacht as their main man at out-half, Frawley would obviously love a start for Ireland. Of course, there is also Harry Byrne, who was Leinster’s first-choice for most of the provincial season. So Farrell has options here.
Stuart McCloskey played for the first time in two months on Saturday and though he was key to Ireland’s win, there were signs of a bit of rust in defence, so it would make sense for him to go again.
Garry Ringrose was at outside centre, where Farrell has other possibilities in Robbie Henshaw, Jamie Osborne, and perhaps Bundee Aki.
The back three will depend on whether Rob Baloucoune is fit to start after pulling out of the Australia game with a hamstring issue.
He was on the pitch with Ireland at their training session on Tuesday, although the initial optimism around his recovery appears to have faded a little. It could be that he returns for the New Zealand game.
That leaves Farrell to pick a back three from Hugo Keenan, Osborne, Jimmy O’Brien, Jacob Stockdale and the uncapped Zac Ward.
Keenan was brilliant last time out and will be key in trying to beat the All Blacks. Again, it’s a question of whether to let him keep going in this form or get him to rest up ahead of the assault on Eden Park.
O’Brien and Osborne both play at fullback, while Stockdale and Ward are left wings, albeit Ward has played on the right wing and Stockdale has worn Ireland’s number 15 shirt.
So there has been much for Farrell to consider. The expectation is that his team will have a spine of experience, but that there may be opportunities given to some of the recent additions to the group in this match-day 23.
This selection makes the meeting with Japan all the more interesting.
- This article was updated at 2.52pm to correct an error stating that Darragh Murray had one Ireland cap.
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Farrell's Ireland selection for Japan will be particularly interesting
IN SOME WAYS, Ireland’s team selection for this weekend’s Nations Championship clash with Japan will be the most interesting of the year.
It isn’t the highest-profile or highest-stakes game of 2026 for Ireland, but Andy Farrell has plenty to weigh up.
He is due to name his match-day 23 early on Thursday morning Irish time.
Does he stick with most of the team who beat the Wallabies in Sydney on Saturday, giving them the chance to build more momentum before taking on the All Blacks the following weekend?
Or does he twist and give his wider touring squad chances to impress? There are five uncapped players in the Ireland group who would love a first taste of Test rugby, as well as longer-serving squad members who will have hoped for a start against Japan.
Ireland have been on-message about respecting Japan, all the more so after their win over Italy in Tokyo last weekend, yet Eddie Jones’ Brave Blossoms are the lowest-ranked team that Ireland will face this year.
2027 seems unlikely to be the time for experimenting and depth-building as the World Cup looms, so this game against Japan and the November clash with Fiji back in Dublin seem like the best opportunities to test the depth charts.
The likelihood is that Farrell will find a balance between going for senior men and bringing in fresher faces.
“We’ve brought the younger players over here to see what they’re made of, so we’ll see,” is how Ireland assistant coach John Fogarty put it.
“There always has to be a balance because it’s a Test match and it’s against an organised team with a good scrum that are well-coached.”
The picture at loosehead prop is clear, given that Jeremy Loughman has been ruled out of this game and Ireland have not called up a replacement.
20-year-old Connacht man Billy Bohan is set to cap a remarkable rise by getting his debut, most likely off the Irish bench as Tom O’Toole starts again in the number one shirt.
Dan Sheehan is the tour captain, but Rónan Kelleher has been in flying form, and it would seem like ideal timing to give him the start at hooker given that he is set for his 50th international cap this weekend.
“There is, and there should be,” said Fogarty of the competition to start at hooker between Sheehan and Kelleher. “They’re different players, but they have huge qualities that they can offer massively to the team.
“I guess Leinster saw that when they were facing the Bulls [in the URC final]. They decided to go with Rónan to start and then have Dan to finish.
“I mean, Dan must be a nightmare for teams coming off the bench and his ability to move quickly, his ability to get through contact, etc. So we’ve got two world-class hookers.”
Tighthead prop will be interesting, with Fogarty full of praise for 25-year-old uncapped Connacht man Sam Illo. Including Illo would mean resting one of Tadhg Furlong and Thomas Clarkson ahead of the All Blacks clash.
Illo pushed into the squad ahead of his experienced Connacht team-mate Finlay Bealham, although Fogarty stressed that the 34-year-old is still in their thoughts.
“We’ve got a world-class tighthead in Finlay, in my opinion, at scrum time,” said Fogarty. “He’s world-class. We know he’s there and it’s a tough one. It’s a tough one to say, ‘Let’s leave Finlay here and let’s bring this kid.’
“But growing the depth, backing him on the back of a good season, that’s what we wanted to do, and he’s been great so far.”
Farrell has good options in the second row, with Tadhg Beirne pushing for a start after coming off the bench and taking over the captaincy last weekend against the Wallabies. James Ryan and Joe McCarthy are in good form, while Connacht’s Darragh Murray would love a chance to win his fourth cap after getting a Six Nations debut this year.
Openside flanker Nick Timoney made yet another big impact off the bench against Australia and arguably deserves a start, even if Josh van der Flier continues to perform in this position.
Cian Prendergast was at blindside on Saturday, but Farrell has other options in this role in the explosive Cormac Izuchukwu, Beirne and Jack Conan, who was crucial at number eight against the Wallabies.
The other two number eights in this squad are Connacht’s uncapped Sean Jansen, who the Irish coaches were keen to have a closer look at, and Ulster’s 21-year-old Bryn Ward, who has been impressing with his exuberance and aggression in training.
Craig Casey would have been gutted not to get off the bench in the win over Australia, so a starting chance for him against Japan would make sense, giving Jamison Gibson-Park a chance to freshen up for the clash with his native New Zealand. Ulster scrum-half Nathan Doak is another who would like to build on his promising debut in the Six Nations.
As ever, the number 10 shirt is an area of intrigue. Does Farrell back Sam Prendergast to build on a good performance against the Wallabies? The Kildare man would certainly like to keep his momentum going.
Or do Ireland give Ciarán Frawley the chance to start a Test at out-half for the first time ever?
In fact, Frawley has only started one of his 13 caps so far, and that was at fullback against Wales in the 2024 Six Nations. All of his 12 other Ireland appearances have been off the bench.
As he gets set to join Connacht as their main man at out-half, Frawley would obviously love a start for Ireland. Of course, there is also Harry Byrne, who was Leinster’s first-choice for most of the provincial season. So Farrell has options here.
Stuart McCloskey played for the first time in two months on Saturday and though he was key to Ireland’s win, there were signs of a bit of rust in defence, so it would make sense for him to go again.
Garry Ringrose was at outside centre, where Farrell has other possibilities in Robbie Henshaw, Jamie Osborne, and perhaps Bundee Aki.
The back three will depend on whether Rob Baloucoune is fit to start after pulling out of the Australia game with a hamstring issue.
He was on the pitch with Ireland at their training session on Tuesday, although the initial optimism around his recovery appears to have faded a little. It could be that he returns for the New Zealand game.
That leaves Farrell to pick a back three from Hugo Keenan, Osborne, Jimmy O’Brien, Jacob Stockdale and the uncapped Zac Ward.
Keenan was brilliant last time out and will be key in trying to beat the All Blacks. Again, it’s a question of whether to let him keep going in this form or get him to rest up ahead of the assault on Eden Park.
O’Brien and Osborne both play at fullback, while Stockdale and Ward are left wings, albeit Ward has played on the right wing and Stockdale has worn Ireland’s number 15 shirt.
So there has been much for Farrell to consider. The expectation is that his team will have a spine of experience, but that there may be opportunities given to some of the recent additions to the group in this match-day 23.
This selection makes the meeting with Japan all the more interesting.
- This article was updated at 2.52pm to correct an error stating that Darragh Murray had one Ireland cap.
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Intrigue Ireland Japan John Fogarty Options Selection Stick or Twist?