Ireland team: Winners and losers as Sam Prendergast set for ‘maturity test’ while ‘most prolific’ wing returns

Jack Tunney 03 Feb 2026 12:03 PM

Following Ireland head coach Andy Farrell’s naming of his side to face France in Paris on Thursday, here’s our winners and losers from the squad.

Winners

Jacob Stockdale

Starting his first Six Nations game since 2021, the Ulster man has fought his way back into international recognition. Despite his try-scoring form leaving a lot to be desired at club level, his time in an Ireland shirt remains the most prolific out of anyone in the top 12, with an average of 0.48 tries per match. Even the great Brian O’Driscoll, Ireland’s top ever try scorer, only averaged 0.35 per match.

Sam Prendergast

The promising fly-half has, not for the first time, been given the nod over Jack Crowley. Prendergast, it feels, has benefited from Leinster’s recent club form, for which they’ve won the last six matches he’s been involved in, while Crowley’s Munster have struggled to grind out results in recent times. Prendergast looked incredibly out of his depth during last year’s Six Nations, so it will be interesting to see how the 22-year-old has matured over the past year.

Cian Prendergast

The older brother of Sam has become a key member of Connacht since his arrival on the scene in 2020, and such has been his impact, that he’s been selected above the likes of Jack Conan and Nick Timoney – both of whom could play in the blindside position. At just 25 years of age, this could be a huge opportunity for him to secure his place in the squad as the World Cup looms.

Jeremy Loughman

The ageing Munster prop will add to his existing six Ireland caps when Thursday comes around, due to typical loosehead Andrew Porter’s injury ahead of the wider squad announcement. The 30-year-old last appeared for Ireland during the 2023 World Cup when lining up against Romania in round one. He’s done well to return to the forefront of international rugby, so he will want to take this opportunity with both hands.

Thomas Clarkson

In the absence of the injured Tadhg Furlong, his promising Leinster teammate has stepped up. The 25-year-old last appeared for Ireland in the November internationals, starting against Japan and then appearing from the bench against Australia. Now with a host of starting appearances for both Leinster and Ireland, the tighthead prop has been given the starting jersey ahead of recent British and Irish Lions tourist, Finlay Bealham.

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Losers

James Lowe

With no suggestion that he’s currently injured, the assumption is that he’s been left out of the line-up. His form during the Lions tour of Australia left a lot to be desired. He struggled to recoup his previous levels of excellence in Ireland’s end-of-year internationals. As a result, it appears that Farrell has elected to equip Stockdale instead, leaving Lowe out of the 23 entirely, despite having no outside backs on the bench at all.

Hugo Keenan

The former sevens man suffered a fractured thumb in training last week, which caused him to return home from Ireland’s Six Nations training camp in Portugal. The 29-year-old has not played since suffering from a hip injury, which he sustained after the Lions toured Australia. With promising 24-year-old Jamie Osborne being given the shirt in his absence, his chances of regaining the shirt ahead of the 2027 World Cup are slimming.

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Bundee Aki

It was well known that Aki wouldn’t be a part of the squad after his recent disciplinary issues, but the 35-year-old will be seething seeing Stuart McCloskey at 12, knowing that he could have been wearing that shirt instead. In the absence of Robbie Henshaw as well, Ireland have now become precariously thin in the midfield.

Tadhg Furlong

The legendary prop was deemed not fit enough to return to action for the opening match of the Six Nations, despite returning to training last week. He played 16 minutes in Leinster’s Investec Champions Cup victory over Bayonne in mid-January, but Farrell has elected to keep him rested for the time being.

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