John Cooney: Ireland scrum-half considering switch to Scotland

John Cooney's last appearance for Ireland came against England at Twickenham in February 2020

Ireland scrum-half John Cooney is pondering a switch to Scotland next year under World Rugby's new eligibility rules.

Cooney is eligible to play for the Scots, through his family, three years after his last Ireland appearance which came in February 2020.

"I'll make the decision on my own terms and whatever I feel is right for me," said the 32-year-old Ulster player.

"Half of my family live in Scotland and my dad's a proud Scotsman."

Cooney won the last of his 11 international caps as a replacement against England in the Six Nations and does not appear in the frame for a return under coach Andy Farrell.

A possible switch could see Cooney compete in a World Cup for the first time next year but in the blue shirt of Scotland under the eligibility laws which came into effect last January.

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"I have to make sure everything is right with me with Ulster in terms of the contract and stuff like that," he told the Ulster Rugby Show.

"I have seen people commenting - I can see other people's perception of it but they're generally people who have no connection or affiliation to another country.

"I can see both sides of the conversation but I won't be listening outside. Either way I know my Dad would be immensely proud if I did play [for Scotland]."

Top-two showdown

Cooney's immediate focus is on Saturday's inter-provincial derby against URC leaders Leinster in Dublin.

Ulster sit second and eight points behind their Irish rivals with a game in hand - their only defeat this season came at the hands of Leinster, who prevailed 20-13 at a rain-soaked Kingspan Stadium in September.

"It's disappointing that we didn't at least draw that game - we lost by seven but we could have scored and left that one out there," said the Dubliner, who played for Leinster and Connacht before moving to Ulster in 2017.

"We spoke about having a chip on our shoulder - we know we won away (against Leinster) last year and defended really well, which was the highlight of the game. However, that doesn't matter for anything this season.

"We want to be top of the league - there's no better game this week than Leinster and off the back of that two big European matches.

"We showed last year how good we've become and I feel we have the squad now to kick on.

"We felt like we deserved to get silverware last season and that's what we'll be going for this season. The strength in depth is there but sometimes you need a bit of luck."

You can see the full interview with John Cooney on the Ulster Rugby Show at 22:00 GMT on Thursday on BBC2 NI and BBC iPlayer.