HE ONLY GOT 13 minutes off the bench against Wales in the Six Nations, but Nathan Doak impressed Andy Farrell on his Ireland debut back in March.
There were two stints on the pitch for Doak that day, with the Ulster man replacing starting scrum-half Jamison Gibson when he went to the blood bin during the first half, then permanently coming on for the closing minutes of Ireland’s 27-17 win.
“I thought he was really composed, and when he came on again he was really composed,” said Farrell.
“His kicking and passing was excellent. He’s done really well to perform like that on his debut.
“He’ll continue to stay in the room, I’ve no doubt.”
The Ireland boss also said that his team needed to celebrate the “fantastic story” of Doak winning his first cap.
In that sense, he was alluding to the fact that many people, probably including Doak himself, thought he might make his Ireland debut before the age of 24.
The son of former Ulster head coach Neil, he clearly comes from good stock.
Nathan’s younger brother, 19-year-old tighthead prop Cameron, was part of the Ulster academy but left last season and has since joined English club Harlequins, who have loaned him to Chinnor and London Scottish in the Championship this season.
Doak on his Ireland debut against Wales. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
But it was clear from early on that Nathan was going to be a key figure for Ulster. Just a couple of weeks after turning 20, he made his senior debut for the province against Munster. 11 years before that, he had been an Ulster mascot against the same team.
With his excellent kicking game and strong decision-making, partly honed from being around the great Ruan Pienaar as he grew up, Doak looked like a wise head on young shoulders.
Advertisement
Having already made his Ulster debut, Doak featured for the Ireland U20s in 2021 and played for Emerging Ireland the following year, but he had to show some patience in Ulster with John Cooney still the main man at scrum-half.
It was only last season that Doak became the starter for Ulster at number nine, with Cooney having signed for Brive. Head coach Richie Murphy could see that Doak was the player to build around, and he took over as the frontliner at number nine, as well as impressing for Ireland A in a loss to England A during the 2025 Six Nations window.
Lisburn man Doak had spent time with Farrell’s senior Ireland squad in 2024, getting a call-up for the last week of their tour of South Africa after injuries to Gibson-Park and Craig Casey.
Perhaps the most impressive thing about Doak’s excellent form for Ulster in the last two seasons has been the development of a different side of his game. When he first came through, he was seen as a calming, mature game-controlling scrum-half whose kicking and low error count were the key attributes.
But with Murphy and attack coach Mark Sexton taking the province in a new direction, Doak has shown another side to his game. Ulster’s expansive approach has allowed the scrum-half to demonstrate that he is comfortable in chaos, can be instinctive, and has more athleticism than perhaps initially credited with.
Doak has also continued to work hard on the defensive side of his game, aware that Gibson-Park has a real point of difference in that area. Every scrum-half has a major role to play in defensive systems nowadays and Doak has shown great appetite to get stuck in.
Doak celebrates with Bryn Ward. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
Doak was probably typecast early on in his career, but he has firmly broken out of whatever mould people had put him in.
He has also built a huge amount of experience for someone who turned 24 last December.
Midway through this season, he passed the 100-cap mark for Ulster and his form earned him selection in Ireland’s Six Nations squad.
Caolin Blade, who had been Ireland’s third-choice at scrum-half behind Gibson-Park and Casey, has had an injury-hit season, but Doak’s call-up to the Ireland group was fully deserved.
His debut came against the Welsh, with Casey left out of the matchday 23, and Farrell was impressed.
“He’s a young man who has got a lot of URC caps under his belt,” said the Ireland boss.
“I wouldn’t say he’s been patient, because he’s been desperate to get into the room but once he got into the room, he’s been excellent.”
Casey is clearly the second-in-line to Gibson-Park for Ireland, with the Munster man having earned the trust of Farrell. Casey even captained Ireland on their tour of Georgia and Portugal last summer.
Doak was part of that squad too but didn’t get capped, with Connacht’s Ben Murphy coming off the bench for Casey in both Tests. It should be noted that Murphy is currently playing very well for Connacht and will be keen to return to the fold under Farrell.
But Doak will have ambitions of challenging the pecking order with a Nations Championship trip to face Australia, Japan, and New Zealand ahead for Ireland this summer. The 2027 World Cup is looming in the back of every Irish international’s mind, so being part of this summer’s tour would be an important step.
Doak will hope to tour with Ireland this summer. Nick Elliott / INPHO
Nick Elliott / INPHO / INPHO
Doak has continued to be pivotal for Ulster since the Six Nations, including in his starts in all three of the Challenge Cup knock-out wins that have led to this weekend’s final against Montpellier in Bilbao.
His most recent start against the Stormers in the URC two weekend ended with disappointment as Doak thought he had made a last-gasp try-saving tackle to deny the South African side a share of the spoils, but instead it was ruled a penalty try on review for a high tackle.
Nonetheless, Doak’s performance that night again showed how big an influence he is having on Ulster’s game as he made good decisions, including one tap penalty from near his own tryline when space was clearly beckoning.
Doak was used off the bench last weekend as Ulster agonisingly lost to Glasgowin the URC, with the scrum-half making a positive impact in the second half along with regular halfback partner Jack Murphy.
An excellent long Doak kick into space helped Ulster create what looked like a possible winning try from Murphy, but it wasn’t to be as Glasgow scored the actual winner late on.
Doak missed narrowly with two difficult conversion attempts from the right touchline, one of which hit the upright.
He is Ulster’s main goal-kicker and is operating at 74.5% in the URC and Challenge Cup.
As he returns to the number nine shift this Friday night at San Mamés Stadium, Doak will be looking to nail every chance he gets from the tee and continue to have a major influence for Ulster against Montpellier, all the more so with some key leaders missing from the side.
The scrum-half has long dreamed about winning trophies in an Ulster jersey, and now he gets a chance to do exactly that.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Close
Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic.
Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy
here
before taking part.
Doak an ever-growing influence for Ulster after impressing Farrell
HE ONLY GOT 13 minutes off the bench against Wales in the Six Nations, but Nathan Doak impressed Andy Farrell on his Ireland debut back in March.
There were two stints on the pitch for Doak that day, with the Ulster man replacing starting scrum-half Jamison Gibson when he went to the blood bin during the first half, then permanently coming on for the closing minutes of Ireland’s 27-17 win.
“I thought he was really composed, and when he came on again he was really composed,” said Farrell.
“His kicking and passing was excellent. He’s done really well to perform like that on his debut.
“He’ll continue to stay in the room, I’ve no doubt.”
The Ireland boss also said that his team needed to celebrate the “fantastic story” of Doak winning his first cap.
In that sense, he was alluding to the fact that many people, probably including Doak himself, thought he might make his Ireland debut before the age of 24.
The son of former Ulster head coach Neil, he clearly comes from good stock.
Nathan’s younger brother, 19-year-old tighthead prop Cameron, was part of the Ulster academy but left last season and has since joined English club Harlequins, who have loaned him to Chinnor and London Scottish in the Championship this season.
But it was clear from early on that Nathan was going to be a key figure for Ulster. Just a couple of weeks after turning 20, he made his senior debut for the province against Munster. 11 years before that, he had been an Ulster mascot against the same team.
With his excellent kicking game and strong decision-making, partly honed from being around the great Ruan Pienaar as he grew up, Doak looked like a wise head on young shoulders.
Having already made his Ulster debut, Doak featured for the Ireland U20s in 2021 and played for Emerging Ireland the following year, but he had to show some patience in Ulster with John Cooney still the main man at scrum-half.
It was only last season that Doak became the starter for Ulster at number nine, with Cooney having signed for Brive. Head coach Richie Murphy could see that Doak was the player to build around, and he took over as the frontliner at number nine, as well as impressing for Ireland A in a loss to England A during the 2025 Six Nations window.
Lisburn man Doak had spent time with Farrell’s senior Ireland squad in 2024, getting a call-up for the last week of their tour of South Africa after injuries to Gibson-Park and Craig Casey.
Perhaps the most impressive thing about Doak’s excellent form for Ulster in the last two seasons has been the development of a different side of his game. When he first came through, he was seen as a calming, mature game-controlling scrum-half whose kicking and low error count were the key attributes.
But with Murphy and attack coach Mark Sexton taking the province in a new direction, Doak has shown another side to his game. Ulster’s expansive approach has allowed the scrum-half to demonstrate that he is comfortable in chaos, can be instinctive, and has more athleticism than perhaps initially credited with.
Doak has also continued to work hard on the defensive side of his game, aware that Gibson-Park has a real point of difference in that area. Every scrum-half has a major role to play in defensive systems nowadays and Doak has shown great appetite to get stuck in.
Doak was probably typecast early on in his career, but he has firmly broken out of whatever mould people had put him in.
He has also built a huge amount of experience for someone who turned 24 last December.
Midway through this season, he passed the 100-cap mark for Ulster and his form earned him selection in Ireland’s Six Nations squad.
Caolin Blade, who had been Ireland’s third-choice at scrum-half behind Gibson-Park and Casey, has had an injury-hit season, but Doak’s call-up to the Ireland group was fully deserved.
His debut came against the Welsh, with Casey left out of the matchday 23, and Farrell was impressed.
“He’s a young man who has got a lot of URC caps under his belt,” said the Ireland boss.
“I wouldn’t say he’s been patient, because he’s been desperate to get into the room but once he got into the room, he’s been excellent.”
Casey is clearly the second-in-line to Gibson-Park for Ireland, with the Munster man having earned the trust of Farrell. Casey even captained Ireland on their tour of Georgia and Portugal last summer.
Doak was part of that squad too but didn’t get capped, with Connacht’s Ben Murphy coming off the bench for Casey in both Tests. It should be noted that Murphy is currently playing very well for Connacht and will be keen to return to the fold under Farrell.
But Doak will have ambitions of challenging the pecking order with a Nations Championship trip to face Australia, Japan, and New Zealand ahead for Ireland this summer. The 2027 World Cup is looming in the back of every Irish international’s mind, so being part of this summer’s tour would be an important step.
Doak has continued to be pivotal for Ulster since the Six Nations, including in his starts in all three of the Challenge Cup knock-out wins that have led to this weekend’s final against Montpellier in Bilbao.
His most recent start against the Stormers in the URC two weekend ended with disappointment as Doak thought he had made a last-gasp try-saving tackle to deny the South African side a share of the spoils, but instead it was ruled a penalty try on review for a high tackle.
Nonetheless, Doak’s performance that night again showed how big an influence he is having on Ulster’s game as he made good decisions, including one tap penalty from near his own tryline when space was clearly beckoning.
Doak was used off the bench last weekend as Ulster agonisingly lost to Glasgow in the URC, with the scrum-half making a positive impact in the second half along with regular halfback partner Jack Murphy.
An excellent long Doak kick into space helped Ulster create what looked like a possible winning try from Murphy, but it wasn’t to be as Glasgow scored the actual winner late on.
Doak missed narrowly with two difficult conversion attempts from the right touchline, one of which hit the upright.
He is Ulster’s main goal-kicker and is operating at 74.5% in the URC and Challenge Cup.
As he returns to the number nine shift this Friday night at San Mamés Stadium, Doak will be looking to nail every chance he gets from the tee and continue to have a major influence for Ulster against Montpellier, all the more so with some key leaders missing from the side.
The scrum-half has long dreamed about winning trophies in an Ulster jersey, and now he gets a chance to do exactly that.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Homegrown Montpellier Nathan Doak Ulster