AS IRELAND MOVE into their next chapter without three of the players who had been most synonymous with the squad, Andy Farrell has unsurprisingly opted for a strong degree of continuity along with a sprinkling of fresher faces.
Peter O’Mahony, Conor Murray, and Cian Healy left the building last season, taking 376 caps of international experience with them.
They were leaders in the group, O’Mahony especially, and even while their importance to the first-choice team had dimmed in recent years, Farrell will be watching closely for signs of how their exits impact his squad. In fairness, those three legendary figures would have pointed out last season that this Ireland side was no longer ‘their’ team.
The likes of Tadhg Beirne, Caelan Doris, Dan Sheehan, Josh van der Flier, Andrew Porter, Hugo Keenan, James Lowe, and Garry Ringrose have become the spine of the team and will most likely continue to be when fit and firing in the coming years.
While Keenan misses the upcoming November Tests due to injury, Farrell can be confident that he has an experienced core of top-class players who will continue to set standards.
What Farrell is now hoping to see is the less-experienced crop of players in his squad putting their hands up to become main men.
That process is already well and truly underway at out-half, where 22-year-old Sam Prendergast edged ahead of 25-year-old Jack Crowley last season.
Having missed out on Lions selection under Farrell, they got a start each on Ireland’s summer tour. Prendergast had the number 10 shirt for the game against Georgia, with Crowley coming in for the Portugal fixture.
Prendergast was impressive in Ireland’s win over the Georgians, and although Crowley excelled against an abysmal Portugal side, there’s no doubt which game held more value. Prendergast is probably still the front-runner in Farrell’s eyes, but both out-halves need chances. Two starts each in these four November games would make sense in allowing both to continue their development.
Sam Prendergast and Jack Crowley. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
Ciarán Frawley remains the third out-half in the squad, as well as an option at fullback and inside centre. His two starts for Leinster so far this season have come in the number 12 shirt.
Jamie Osborne and Tommy O’Brien are the relatively fresh faces in the outside backs, with just 10 caps between them.
Osborne is still only 23, and while O’Brien is now 27, his lack of luck on the injury front means he remains more inexperienced than he would have been otherwise.
Right wing O’Brien only made his first Champions Cup start for Leinster last season, while he got his first two Ireland caps on the summer tour and did very well. He’s a different type of wing to Mack Hansen but O’Brien has the athleticism, work rate, and game intelligence to be a real hit under Farrell.
Ireland have needed genuine competition in the back three and O’Brien looks like he will bring more of that. This is probably the next stage for Farrell – to ensure that important players who have been first-choice for a while feel considerably more heat. He’s certainly not a coach to dispense with proven quality in favour of flashy new things, but selection pressure ensures people have to play out of their skin.
Many fans would like to see Farrell mimicking South Africa and France in terms of testing different players out, but Irish rugby doesn’t have the depth of those two nations.
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With Keenan sidelined, Osborne is considered the favourite to start at fullback against the All Blacks. He has been the clear second-in-line in this position over the last 18 months. Jimmy O’Brien slotted in at number 15 for the July Tests but has been left out of this autumn squad.
Hansen, Jacob Stockdale, and Frawley are the other options at fullback, with Stockdale recently returning to the number 15 shirt for Ulster and Hansen being named there on his return for Connacht tomorrow.
If Hansen were to line out at fullback, rather than his usual spot on the right wing, it might allow O’Brien to get a big start at number 14.
But Farrell is a huge fan of Osborne’s ability, as underlined by his being called up to the Lions tour as injury cover and staying in Australia even when others had returned to action.
Of course, eight-times capped Osborne is also an excellent centre and he may well make more appearances for Ireland in midfield, but the established quartet of Bundee Aki, Garry Ringrose, Robbie Henshaw, and Stuart McCloskey aren’t going anywhere.
Younger centres like Hugh Gavin – capped in July – Jude Postlethwaite, Dan Kelly, James Hume, Cathal Forde, and Hugh Cooney are also on Ireland’s radar, but the senior men will be very hard to shift.
Jamie Osborne was part of the Lions tour. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
The other story of development among the Irish backs is that of Craig Casey, who is on the 20-cap mark. It seemingly took time for Farrell and co. to be fully convinced of his qualities but they are all in now, having handed Casey the captaincy for the summer tour.
The 26-year-old Munster scrum-half has rounded his game out over the last two seasons and looks ready to make a major impact as back-up to and, Farrell will hope, genuine competition for Jamison Gibson-Park.
The Irish front row contingent includes a few inexperienced players, particularly at loosehead. With Healy having retired, developing experience behind Porter is urgent. The process began last season with 23-year-old Jack Boyle usurping Healy as the second-in-line, while Michael Milne won his first two caps in July but misses out on this squad. Instead, the explosive 22-year-old Paddy McCarthy comes in and is set for his debut next month.
At hooker, 22-year-old Gus McCarthy will aim to build on a breakthrough season in which he won six caps. He naturally still has work to do to improve the consistency of his nuts and bolts but he’s a serious competitor with a strong mindset. He has two top-end hookers to learn from in Dan Sheehan and Rónan Kelleher.
At tighthead, Thomas Clarkson moved to another level last season as he won eight caps and ended up being part of the Lions tour in a similar manner to Osborne. That was a sign of the esteem in which Farrell holds him, while Clarkson’s dominant performance for Leinster against the Bulls in the URC final showed his ever-growing confidence.
He will continue to pick up nous from the revitalised Tadhg Furlong and Finlay Bealham, but Farrell will want to see Clarkson challenge those senior men too.
Eight of this nine-man Ireland front row contingent are Leinster players, which is a credit to the eastern province’s pipeline, but also a potential issue for Farrell.
The Ireland head coach doesn’t care about the optics of the situation. But the reality is that if all three Leinster looseheads and hookers are fit for the province’s big games, two of them will obviously miss out. Tighthead prop Clarkson also has experienced French prop Rabah Slimani to contend with.
Thomas Clarkson had a brilliant 2024/25 season. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
Of course, there are always injuries at different stages of the season and Leinster generally give everyone a chance when it’s deserved, but Farrell will want his young Ireland players to be learning on the job, especially in the front row.
The fact that 21 of the 34-man Ireland squad are Leinster players certainly isn’t ideal from an IRFU point of view. The union absolutely needs Munster, Ulster, and Connacht’s pipelines to be in prime working order, while bigger contingents from those provinces will help with supporter engagement around the country. IRFU performance director David Humphreys is on the record as saying that closing the gap between Leinster and the other three provinces is one of his biggest priorities.
The IRFU will continue to offer young players down the Leinster pecking order a chance to switch provinces. The likes of Boyle, Gus McCarthy, Sheehan, and Kelleher have resisted such opportunities in the past and must be happy with their decisions.
Milne previously opted to stay with Leinster, but eventually did make the move to Munster ahead of this season. Initially, that paid off as he won two Ireland caps in July, but now he’s on the outside again as Paddy McCarthy gets a shot. Milne will surely be back in the mix at some stage.
The plain reality is that Leinster players will continue to dominate Ireland selections as long as Leinster remain the leading team in the country. Leinster should have the lion’s share of players given the population of the province and the excellent schools system there.
Farrell’s job is to win games with Ireland and, as always, he has picked the squad he believes will help him to do that this November and beyond.
Another relatively new face among the Irish forwards is Munster’s Thomas Ahern. The 25-year-old got his first two caps on the July tour, starting in the second row against Portugal after coming off the bench in the Georgia game.
Ahern has long been seen as a potential Test player thanks to his remarkable athleticism. He has worked hard to become more robust, as well as improving his nuts-and-bolts set-piece work out of sight. And yet, Ahern hasn’t quite managed to become a clear first-choice player for his province up to this point.
Nonetheless, he could bring something unique to the frontline Ireland set-up and with Ulster’s Cormac Izuchuwku missing out due to injury, Ahern comes in as an exciting lock/blindside flanker option.
O’Mahony’s exit as the lineout expert at blindside should ensure ferocious competition for that spot, with Beirne, Ryan Baird, and Cian Prendergast also capable of filling the role.
Jack Conan was the man to start at number six in Ireland’s last Six Nations game this year, combining with Doris and van der Flier in the starting back row. Of course, Conan was a standout for the Lions at number eight in Doris’ injury-enforced absence, so picking the Irish back row hasn’t got any easier even after O’Mahony’s retirement.
Edwin Edogbo will join Ireland in Chicago. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
Connacht skipper Prendergast will be an interesting player to follow. He’s still only 25 and was unlucky to twice be ruled out of Ireland games last season at the last minute due to illness. Farrell likes his dynamism, accuracy, and combativeness. Prendergast can play across the back row and has even earned Test minutes in the second row for Ireland.
It’s not as if openside flanker van der Flier needs relentless competition to play out of his skin, but it would be good for Farrell to figure out if his back-up plan at number seven is in working order. Nick Timoney started there against Georgia, his fourth cap, and is consistently excellent for Ulster. He’s 30, so adding to his experience makes sense.
Caelan Doris has played at openside for Ireland in the past and could perhaps do so again if van der Flier was injured, given Conan’s quality at number eight. 24-year-old Alex Kendellen also made his Ireland debut in July, but he’s currently sidelined with injury.
Ireland boss Farrell has decided to bring Edwin Edogbo, Brian Gleeson, and Shayne Bolton to Chicago as cover for the main squad. All three appear to have the physicality and toughness required to become a bigger part of Farrell’s plans in the coming years.
Connacht wing Bolton made his debut against Portugal and has a real edge to his game, while uncapped Munster forwards Edogbo and Gleeson are exciting prospects.
22-year-old second row Edogbo is the kind of heavy-duty, high-powered tighthead lock that Irish rugby hasn’t produced many of. He is in the mould of Joe McCarthy, who is missing at the moment due to injury, so Edogbo’s presence is welcome.
21-year-old back row Gleeson has been with Ireland as a development player before, and his punchy, precise start to the season with Munster has clearly impressed Farrell. Like Edogbo, it’s clear that he has a high ceiling, so Gleeson will be keen to impress in Chicago.
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Farrell looks to develop competition around Ireland's familiar core
AS IRELAND MOVE into their next chapter without three of the players who had been most synonymous with the squad, Andy Farrell has unsurprisingly opted for a strong degree of continuity along with a sprinkling of fresher faces.
Peter O’Mahony, Conor Murray, and Cian Healy left the building last season, taking 376 caps of international experience with them.
They were leaders in the group, O’Mahony especially, and even while their importance to the first-choice team had dimmed in recent years, Farrell will be watching closely for signs of how their exits impact his squad. In fairness, those three legendary figures would have pointed out last season that this Ireland side was no longer ‘their’ team.
The likes of Tadhg Beirne, Caelan Doris, Dan Sheehan, Josh van der Flier, Andrew Porter, Hugo Keenan, James Lowe, and Garry Ringrose have become the spine of the team and will most likely continue to be when fit and firing in the coming years.
While Keenan misses the upcoming November Tests due to injury, Farrell can be confident that he has an experienced core of top-class players who will continue to set standards.
What Farrell is now hoping to see is the less-experienced crop of players in his squad putting their hands up to become main men.
That process is already well and truly underway at out-half, where 22-year-old Sam Prendergast edged ahead of 25-year-old Jack Crowley last season.
Having missed out on Lions selection under Farrell, they got a start each on Ireland’s summer tour. Prendergast had the number 10 shirt for the game against Georgia, with Crowley coming in for the Portugal fixture.
Prendergast was impressive in Ireland’s win over the Georgians, and although Crowley excelled against an abysmal Portugal side, there’s no doubt which game held more value. Prendergast is probably still the front-runner in Farrell’s eyes, but both out-halves need chances. Two starts each in these four November games would make sense in allowing both to continue their development.
Ciarán Frawley remains the third out-half in the squad, as well as an option at fullback and inside centre. His two starts for Leinster so far this season have come in the number 12 shirt.
Jamie Osborne and Tommy O’Brien are the relatively fresh faces in the outside backs, with just 10 caps between them.
Osborne is still only 23, and while O’Brien is now 27, his lack of luck on the injury front means he remains more inexperienced than he would have been otherwise.
Right wing O’Brien only made his first Champions Cup start for Leinster last season, while he got his first two Ireland caps on the summer tour and did very well. He’s a different type of wing to Mack Hansen but O’Brien has the athleticism, work rate, and game intelligence to be a real hit under Farrell.
Ireland have needed genuine competition in the back three and O’Brien looks like he will bring more of that. This is probably the next stage for Farrell – to ensure that important players who have been first-choice for a while feel considerably more heat. He’s certainly not a coach to dispense with proven quality in favour of flashy new things, but selection pressure ensures people have to play out of their skin.
Many fans would like to see Farrell mimicking South Africa and France in terms of testing different players out, but Irish rugby doesn’t have the depth of those two nations.
With Keenan sidelined, Osborne is considered the favourite to start at fullback against the All Blacks. He has been the clear second-in-line in this position over the last 18 months. Jimmy O’Brien slotted in at number 15 for the July Tests but has been left out of this autumn squad.
Hansen, Jacob Stockdale, and Frawley are the other options at fullback, with Stockdale recently returning to the number 15 shirt for Ulster and Hansen being named there on his return for Connacht tomorrow.
If Hansen were to line out at fullback, rather than his usual spot on the right wing, it might allow O’Brien to get a big start at number 14.
But Farrell is a huge fan of Osborne’s ability, as underlined by his being called up to the Lions tour as injury cover and staying in Australia even when others had returned to action.
Of course, eight-times capped Osborne is also an excellent centre and he may well make more appearances for Ireland in midfield, but the established quartet of Bundee Aki, Garry Ringrose, Robbie Henshaw, and Stuart McCloskey aren’t going anywhere.
Younger centres like Hugh Gavin – capped in July – Jude Postlethwaite, Dan Kelly, James Hume, Cathal Forde, and Hugh Cooney are also on Ireland’s radar, but the senior men will be very hard to shift.
The other story of development among the Irish backs is that of Craig Casey, who is on the 20-cap mark. It seemingly took time for Farrell and co. to be fully convinced of his qualities but they are all in now, having handed Casey the captaincy for the summer tour.
The 26-year-old Munster scrum-half has rounded his game out over the last two seasons and looks ready to make a major impact as back-up to and, Farrell will hope, genuine competition for Jamison Gibson-Park.
The Irish front row contingent includes a few inexperienced players, particularly at loosehead. With Healy having retired, developing experience behind Porter is urgent. The process began last season with 23-year-old Jack Boyle usurping Healy as the second-in-line, while Michael Milne won his first two caps in July but misses out on this squad. Instead, the explosive 22-year-old Paddy McCarthy comes in and is set for his debut next month.
At hooker, 22-year-old Gus McCarthy will aim to build on a breakthrough season in which he won six caps. He naturally still has work to do to improve the consistency of his nuts and bolts but he’s a serious competitor with a strong mindset. He has two top-end hookers to learn from in Dan Sheehan and Rónan Kelleher.
At tighthead, Thomas Clarkson moved to another level last season as he won eight caps and ended up being part of the Lions tour in a similar manner to Osborne. That was a sign of the esteem in which Farrell holds him, while Clarkson’s dominant performance for Leinster against the Bulls in the URC final showed his ever-growing confidence.
He will continue to pick up nous from the revitalised Tadhg Furlong and Finlay Bealham, but Farrell will want to see Clarkson challenge those senior men too.
Eight of this nine-man Ireland front row contingent are Leinster players, which is a credit to the eastern province’s pipeline, but also a potential issue for Farrell.
The Ireland head coach doesn’t care about the optics of the situation. But the reality is that if all three Leinster looseheads and hookers are fit for the province’s big games, two of them will obviously miss out. Tighthead prop Clarkson also has experienced French prop Rabah Slimani to contend with.
Of course, there are always injuries at different stages of the season and Leinster generally give everyone a chance when it’s deserved, but Farrell will want his young Ireland players to be learning on the job, especially in the front row.
The fact that 21 of the 34-man Ireland squad are Leinster players certainly isn’t ideal from an IRFU point of view. The union absolutely needs Munster, Ulster, and Connacht’s pipelines to be in prime working order, while bigger contingents from those provinces will help with supporter engagement around the country. IRFU performance director David Humphreys is on the record as saying that closing the gap between Leinster and the other three provinces is one of his biggest priorities.
The IRFU will continue to offer young players down the Leinster pecking order a chance to switch provinces. The likes of Boyle, Gus McCarthy, Sheehan, and Kelleher have resisted such opportunities in the past and must be happy with their decisions.
Milne previously opted to stay with Leinster, but eventually did make the move to Munster ahead of this season. Initially, that paid off as he won two Ireland caps in July, but now he’s on the outside again as Paddy McCarthy gets a shot. Milne will surely be back in the mix at some stage.
The plain reality is that Leinster players will continue to dominate Ireland selections as long as Leinster remain the leading team in the country. Leinster should have the lion’s share of players given the population of the province and the excellent schools system there.
Farrell’s job is to win games with Ireland and, as always, he has picked the squad he believes will help him to do that this November and beyond.
Another relatively new face among the Irish forwards is Munster’s Thomas Ahern. The 25-year-old got his first two caps on the July tour, starting in the second row against Portugal after coming off the bench in the Georgia game.
Ahern has long been seen as a potential Test player thanks to his remarkable athleticism. He has worked hard to become more robust, as well as improving his nuts-and-bolts set-piece work out of sight. And yet, Ahern hasn’t quite managed to become a clear first-choice player for his province up to this point.
Nonetheless, he could bring something unique to the frontline Ireland set-up and with Ulster’s Cormac Izuchuwku missing out due to injury, Ahern comes in as an exciting lock/blindside flanker option.
O’Mahony’s exit as the lineout expert at blindside should ensure ferocious competition for that spot, with Beirne, Ryan Baird, and Cian Prendergast also capable of filling the role.
Jack Conan was the man to start at number six in Ireland’s last Six Nations game this year, combining with Doris and van der Flier in the starting back row. Of course, Conan was a standout for the Lions at number eight in Doris’ injury-enforced absence, so picking the Irish back row hasn’t got any easier even after O’Mahony’s retirement.
Connacht skipper Prendergast will be an interesting player to follow. He’s still only 25 and was unlucky to twice be ruled out of Ireland games last season at the last minute due to illness. Farrell likes his dynamism, accuracy, and combativeness. Prendergast can play across the back row and has even earned Test minutes in the second row for Ireland.
It’s not as if openside flanker van der Flier needs relentless competition to play out of his skin, but it would be good for Farrell to figure out if his back-up plan at number seven is in working order. Nick Timoney started there against Georgia, his fourth cap, and is consistently excellent for Ulster. He’s 30, so adding to his experience makes sense.
Caelan Doris has played at openside for Ireland in the past and could perhaps do so again if van der Flier was injured, given Conan’s quality at number eight. 24-year-old Alex Kendellen also made his Ireland debut in July, but he’s currently sidelined with injury.
Ireland boss Farrell has decided to bring Edwin Edogbo, Brian Gleeson, and Shayne Bolton to Chicago as cover for the main squad. All three appear to have the physicality and toughness required to become a bigger part of Farrell’s plans in the coming years.
Connacht wing Bolton made his debut against Portugal and has a real edge to his game, while uncapped Munster forwards Edogbo and Gleeson are exciting prospects.
22-year-old second row Edogbo is the kind of heavy-duty, high-powered tighthead lock that Irish rugby hasn’t produced many of. He is in the mould of Joe McCarthy, who is missing at the moment due to injury, so Edogbo’s presence is welcome.
21-year-old back row Gleeson has been with Ireland as a development player before, and his punchy, precise start to the season with Munster has clearly impressed Farrell. Like Edogbo, it’s clear that he has a high ceiling, so Gleeson will be keen to impress in Chicago.
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All Blacks Depth Ireland November Tests