Ireland team: Five takeaways as Andy Farrell backs Sam Prendergast to ‘shoot the lights out’ and plots ‘brilliant comeback story’
Sam Prendergast has been named in the Ireland Six Nations team to play France along with Jacob Stockdale, inset
Following Ireland’s announcement of their 23-man squad to face France on Thursday in the Six Nations, here are our five key takeaways from Andy Farrell’s selection.
The top line
Just over 10 weeks on from their South African card farce, Ireland have unveiled an XV showing seven changes from that bruising 24-13 loss. Injury was a factor in four of the alterations, suspension was the reason for another swap, and the remaining two were decided on form.
Three of the switches are in the backline. Unlike the returning Hugo Keenan, who was injured at training in Portugal last week, Jamie Osborne, who hasn’t played any rugby since his early November shoulder injury against Japan, has timed his comeback to perfection as he takes over at full-back in place of Mack Hansen.
Stuart McCloskey, whose Autumn Nations Series was also prematurely ended by injury, returns at inside centre with Bundee Aki unavailable following his February-ruining suspension for verbals to match officials.
Also back in the fold is Jacob Stockdale, who is named for a first Six Nations start since 2021, with James Lowe’s winter form deemed insufficient for him to keep a hold on the No.11 shirt.
Right wing Tommy O’Brien, midfielder Garry Ringrose and half-backs Sam Prendergast and Jamison Gibson-Park are Ireland’s four retained backs from the Springboks loss 73 days ago.
Switching to the pack, injuries to Andrew Porter and Tadhg Furlong have resulted in Farrell naming Jeremy Loughman and Thomas Clarkson to start in what are their first Six Nations appearances.
Joe McCarthy is also back fit, consigning James Ryan to the bench following his 20-minute red card versus the Boks, while Cian Prendergast, who did well as a replacement against South Africa, has been promoted to start with Ryan Baird injured.
Joining this quartet in the pack are the retained trio of hooker Dan Sheehan, openside Josh van der Flier and No.8 and skipper Caelan Doris.
Looking at the bench, Farrell has abandoned the five/three split used the last day for a six/two where the three personnel changes are rookie loosehead Michael Milne for the injured Paddy McCarthy, the demoted Ryan for the promoted Prendergast and the naming of back-row Nick Timoney as the extra forward with midfielder Tom Farrell excluded.
Hooker Ronan Kelleher, tighthead Finlay Bealham, back-row Jack Conan and half-back pair Crag Casey and Jack Crowley are the five repeat subs.
Ex-Ireland stars call on management to ‘put their hands up’ after ‘pitbull on a lead’ fiasco
Sam’s the man
With the unexpected inclusions of Stockdale and Cian Prendergast jumping off the page released from Paris on Tuesday morning by the IRFU, it’s easy to get distracted from the dominant talking point all winter about this Irish selection – the identity of the player wearing the No.10 shirt for the Stade de France tournament opener.
Coming out of the underwhelming four-match Autumn Nations Series, where the negativity of Ireland’s losses to New Zealand and South Africa easily eclipsed the value of the wins over Japan and Australia, Crowley and Sam Prendergast were much of a muchness – two starts each, two more appearances as a sub, with neither player producing the statement performance to claim top dog status.
That outcome meant the pair’s every move over the winter with their club teams was closely monitored in a debate where a third wheel emerged. Having gone away to Bristol this time last year on loan from Leinster, no money would have been wagered that Harry Byrne would be in the conversation to start the 2026 Six Nations opener away to France.
However, a reputation-enhancing re-emergence with Leinster this winter had him suggested as some pundits’ choice, including Andrew Trimble, to wear the No.10 versus Les Bleus.
This curveball was an unnecessary sidebar – whereas Byrne would have been a steady Eddie option, methodically performing without taking risks, the No.10 wearer in Paris was always going to be either Prendergast or Crowley, due to their potential to produce something spectacular in attack and light up the match.
That ability was the defining selection factor that tipped the jersey Prendergast’s way, despite his flaky defending which, for example, was at fault for two of La Rochelle’s tries last month in the Investec Champions Cup.
The Leinster player’s ability to get his team on the front foot with his calibre of snappy passing and his space-seeing kicking (remember his jaw-dropping crosskick assist to Jordan Larmour versus Harlequins) is what Farrell hopes he can bring to Ireland in a fixture where safe and sound won’t suffice.
Ireland need to shoot the lights out in Paris in attack, so Prendergast is the understandable pick with Crowley named as back-up after a draining winter of debate and deliberation.
Precarious situation
Ireland’s most recent outing was a brutal test of the durability of their scrum. Despite fielding two British and Irish Lions picks as their starting props, they were eaten alive at the set-piece by the Springboks and it was sobering to watch the yellow-carding of Porter and then his replacement Paddy McCarthy for repeated infringements.
This facet of play would have been forensically reviewed in the painful aftermath, but little could scrum coach John Fogarty have imagined that Ireland would go in against France at the start of the Six Nations with their leading three looseheads – Porter, McCarthy and Jack Boyle – and their top tighthead, Furlong, all absent through injury.
This dire situation has left the Irish dependent on Test rookies Loughman and Clarkson as their Thursday night starters – 15 caps between them –and while sub tighthead Bealham is no apprentice with his 54 caps, it says a lot about what he currently brings that he wasn’t elevated into the starting XV with Furlong missing.
On the other side, the two-cap Milne has been included, further highlighting the precarious situation of inexperience that Ireland find themselves in. It has set up a fascinating game within the game – how can an Irish scrum that was already viewed as vulnerable and weak manage to cope against the French with starting props who are essentially rookies at Test level, and another rookie chosen as one of the two back-ups?
It’s a reflection of the current lack of depth that exists at provincial level. Look at how Leinster had to bring in French veteran Rabah Slimani, Munster picking up Michael Alaalatoa in an emergency this winter and Ulster shelling out the big bucks for Wallaby Angus Bell. There is a scrum alert going on all over the shop.
Being so low on prop stock isn’t something that has blindsided the IRFU. It was around the time that David Humphreys took over from David Nucifora as high-performance boss in 2024 that the memo went out for remedial action to be taken.
It has resulted in a pile of grassroots pathway back-rowers getting thrust into the propping positions to see if they have what it takes. This experiment, though, isn’t an overnight fix, and where we are now is this state of affairs that has left Ireland exposed at Test level with the Six Nations about to start. Every scrum on Thursday will be a must-watch.
Comeback story
It’s an unflattering Irish trait to dwell on the potential negative rather than talk up the promise of hope. This nation of worriers has plenty to mull over with Prendergast at No.10 and two unfamiliar names at prop. However, a sunny side up is the inclusion of Stockdale on the left wing.
If you can’t get excited about this comeback story, then perhaps rugby isn’t the game for you. Let’s backtrack: Stockdale blazed a trail when he first emerged under Joe Schmidt, scoring tries for fun and ending the 2018 Six Nations as the player of the tournament.
His fortunes since Farrell took charge have been quite the opposite, however. He was initially still in vogue, but the fact that Thursday night represents his first Six Nations start since the March 2021 win over England highlights the length of absence from the big day.
Injuries and lack of form have been his downfall and even when things looked promising on the club front with Ulster, the gremlins have treated him terribly at Test level on the rare occasions he has got a look in. See how he pulled up with a hamstring issue against Fiji in November 2024 and then busted his shoulder last July away to Georgia.
In these trying circumstances, you can only admire his persistence at sucking up the repeated setbacks, getting back at it and working his way back into contention.
The 29-year-old’s golden reward had now arrived with his deserved inclusion on the left wing. If he goes well, and the indications are that he should given how encouraging his Ulster form is, it will be viewed as a brilliant sports comeback story.
For every upside, there is a down and in this instance, it is the axing of Lowe, which must be viewed as no bad thing. Farrell was generous in his decision to take so many Leinster players with him on the British and Irish Lions.
Ireland’s leading province somehow emerged unscathed from the winter results-wise, heaping one ugly performance on top of another in an 11-match winning streak, but the form of some star players – including Lowe – wasn’t great.
He was chosen by Farrell for Ireland in November on reputation alone and his lack of standout contributions since then with Leinster have resulted in Stockdale finally getting ahead in the Irish queue. The decision will hopefully send a message to some other underperforming Irish Lions – buck up or you too can be J-Lowed out of this Test team.
Ireland coach addresses ‘misconception’ on Jacques Nienaber system’s impact on the national team
Significant development
Head coach Farrell never picks his Test sides factoring in the provincial divide, but the figures that came out in the wash with his latest selection are 10 Leinster starters and three subs, two Munster starters and three subs, two Ulster starters and one sub and one Connacht starter and one sub.
It means all four provinces have got a look in, so there can’t be any parochial quibbles over the way things have fallen, but when you scratch the surface, you realise how much more of a sway Leinster really has than the 13 of the 23 currently on their books in Dublin.
Loughman, Beirne and Milne are a Munster trio that all started out in Leinster, and it’s the same regarding Connacht’s Cian Prendergast and Ulster’s Timoney, meaning 18 of Farrell’s 23 have a blue attachment. Of course, Prendergast didn’t get to wear the blue high up, getting told after Ireland U20s that there was no Leinster academy spot for him.
Want more from Planet Rugby? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for world-class coverage you can trust.
Connacht became his place of learning from 2020 and it’s a testament to Prendergast that he is deservedly set to start in the Six Nations 18 days before his 26th birthday. It’s a positive story for those who insist there isn’t much of a pathway life outside Leinster.
He has shown there are alternative ways to get into this Irish side – so getting named for a first Six Nations is a significant development, and it makes for an all the better story that he will run out at Stade de France as the No.6 with his younger brother wearing the No.10 jersey. Nice one.
Prendergast won’t hold back in forward exchanges that are expected to be draining. While a six/two bench is a change from the five/three against South Africa, the tactic is a repeat of what interim boss Simon Easterby went with last March when Ireland last hosted the French.
It didn’t work out, as Ireland were blown away in the second half with the likes of Conan and Ryan unable to help stave off the 42-27 beating that materialised following the 13-8 lead secured through Sheehan’s 44th minute converted try.
The hope is that repeat subs Conan and Ryan will fare better this time around, and they must or France will potentially run away with it with the replacements on.
READ MORE: Ex-England stars omit ‘garbage’ Johnny Sexton and ‘overrated’ Wales legend in Six Nations Dream XV
