'Massive honour' for Stewart to captain Ireland XV

Stewart has won five full caps for Ireland

Captaining the Ireland XV team for Saturday's match against Spain (16:00 GMT) is a "massive honour" for Tom Stewart, who says it is always "special" to pull on the green jersey.

The 24-year-old Ulster hooker has won five senior international caps and while the ambition is to become a regular starter for Andy Farrell's Test side, Saturday's game in Leganes "is another step closer to the end goal".

Stewart won his first cap in a 2023 World Cup warm-up game against Italy as part of an extended training panel, but missed out on selection for the final squad.

Although disappointed, he adopted a pragmatic view and accepts there is huge competition for places, so is keen to show what he can do on Saturday when leading Cullie Tucker's side, having made his latest appearances during Ireland's summer tour to Georgia and Portugal.

"Any time you can pull on a green jersey, never mind captain a side, it's very special and I'm looking forward to the challenge this weekend," he said.

"It's frustrating at times when you know you're not going to get selected, but that's the game we play. There's hard decisions for coaches every day and hard realities for players each day and each week, whether you don't start, don't play at all or don't get selected for international camps."

Stewart, who has 29 tries in 60 Ulster appearances, added: "There are boys who are disappointed across the provinces about not making this autumn series, but this kind of game is a great opportunity for the likes of myself and Mick Milne (Leinster prop) who were in for the summer. It's hard, but it's the reality for us and this week is a great opportunity for us to go and show what we can do in a green jersey.

"This is another step closer to the end goal, so you don't look past these opportunities as they don't come around too often. It's great for the younger guys coming up to see what it's like to be a part of a national set-up and good for guys like myself to know I'm not a million miles away."

'Filling in at flanker a cool experience'

Stewart exhibited his versatility on Ulster's recent tour to South Africa, filling in as a back-row forward in the second half of the win over the Sharks, while playing 80 minutes at flanker the following week against the Lions with Nick Timoney out through injury.

It is a return to familiar territory for Stewart this week who said he is "looking forward to throwing some line-outs again".

"It was a cool experience playing back row. I'd done bits and pieces in school but never any pro stuff," he said.

"The week before, one of the boys got an unfortunate injury and I had to step in there. It was weird when Richie (Murphy, Ulster head coach) came to me at the start of the week and told me I'd be playing 7 (flanker) but that's the game we're playing now.

"You look at the likes of South Africa and people switching positions. With most hookers, they are athletic enough to play in the back row, so I just don't have to throw and scrum.

"At altitude in 29 degrees made it difficult, but I knew I was going to play 80 minutes too, which is uncharacteristic of a hooker at the minute. It was a tough game but I don't think it was any harder getting around the pitch as my job at hooker is very similar."