Irish Rugby

Image source, Inpho

South African Werner Kok is in line to make his Ulster debut in Saturday's pre-season friendly against Exeter at Sandy Park.

The back-three player, who was signed from the Sharks this summer, is named among the replacements for the trip to England.

Zack Ward is handed his first Ulster start, with the trialist on the right wing after coming off the bench in last weekend's 26-19 victory over Benetton in Belfast.

The front row sees a return to action for Andrew Warwick at loosehead prop while trialist Corrie Barrett is named at tighthead.

Alan O'Connor will captain the team from the second row and development talent James McNabney starts at eight.

The half-back partnership this weekend sees scrum-half Nathan Doak pairing up with Kiwi Aidan Morgan, who made his debut for the province last weekend.

Ben Carson starts at inside centre and is joined by Jude Postlethwaite while Aaron Sexton starts again on the right wing with Ethan McIlroy completing the backfield at full-back.

Ulster: Ethan McIlroy; Zac Ward, Jude Postlethwaite, Ben Carson, Aaron Sexton; Aidan Morgan, Nathan Doak; Andrew Warwick, James McCormick, Corrie Barrett, Alan O’Connor (capt), Kieran Treadwell, Matty Rea, Marcus Rea, James McNabney.

Replacements: John Andrew, Eric O’Sullivan, Scott Wilson, Henry Walker, Harry Sheridan, Reuben Crothers, David McCann, Nick Timoney, Dave Shanahan, James Humphreys, Mike Lowry, Stewart Moore, Werner Kok, Ben Moxham

Image source, Inpho

Ireland head coach Scott Bemand says he wants his players to be "further ahead than they were" as his side take on Australia on Saturday.

Victory over Scotland in the Six Nations secured World Cup qualification for Ireland and Bemand says the target is to improve against one of the world's top nations.

Only Eimear Considine and Cliodhna Moloney were in the squad when Ireland last played the Wallaroos in 2017.

“If you look at the Six Nations against some of the tier one nations, they weren’t what we aspire to by the time we get to the World Cup next year so there’s a big part of this is about taking a big step forward," said Bemand.

“Taking the best bits of our performances against Wales and the second half against Scotland, we’ve got to apply that against tier one nations now.

“Do we want to win? Yes, but realistically we go after performance. We want to be further ahead than we were.”

Australia are ranked fifth in the world while Ireland are up to 10th and constantly improving under Bemand, who was appointed in July 2023.

Ireland's head coach said it was an "exciting opportunity" to play Australia in Belfast.

“We’ve come in at a higher start point [than when Bemand arrived last September], the entry point of what players can do and what we can put out on the park," he said.

“They’re a good team. They’ve got a strong background of touch footie over in Australia so they are an incredibly talented passing team.

"We’ve seen what they can do on the sevens pitch, so playing a game based on movement and strategy and thought. We’re not expecting anything different this time."

Image source, Getty Images

Ireland back rower Caelan Doris says it is a "massive privilege" to be named Leinster captain for the coming season.

The 26-year-old, who has won 43 caps for his country, also captained Ireland in South Africa last summer when Peter O'Mahony was not in the starting XV.

"It's a massive privilege for me to be leading this group," he said.

"I'm fortunate to have so many quality players and staff around me whose advice and input will be crucial. It was special to get the opportunity to captain Leinster several times last season and I'm excited to do the same again this year."

Doris succeeds Garry Ringrose and James Ryan in the role after the pair acted as co-captains for the province last season.

"Caelan has come off an exceptional 12 months, beginning at last year's Rugby World Cup and culminating with him captaining Ireland to victory over world champions South Africa in Durban this summer," said the side's head coach Leo Cullen.

"Caelan will be well supported by James Ryan and Garry Ringrose, who both did an excellent job for us as co-captains last season. There is also a wealth of top-level experience in the wider group that will help and support Caelan in the months ahead."

Leinster's URC season begins on Friday, 20 September away to Edinburgh.

Image source, Getty Images

Ulster assistant coach Dan Soper says Zac Ward has the potential to be a "devastating" weapon for the club but admits he is on a "steep learning curve" as he tries to establish himself as a winger in the 15s game.

Ward made his first Ulster appearance in Saturday's 26-19 friendly win over Benetton in Belfast.

The 25-year-old - the son of former Ulster and Ireland flanker Andy Ward - joined Ulster on a trial basis earlier this summer after starring for the Ireland Sevens at the Paris Olympics.

"You get the ball in his hands and he makes things happen," said Soper.

"Those things he did in sevens when he was on the edge of the pitch, if we can create opportunities like that for him, he could be really devastating but it's certainly so foreign to him in terms of he played all his 15s rugby in the back row and now he's thinking about backfield coverage and catching high balls."

Soper, who said Ulster have no fresh injury concerns ahead of Saturday's friendly away to Exeter Chiefs (17:00 BST), added: "The great thing has been, and it comes from the sevens environment, he's been really good at going after those extras and finding other bits and pieces he needs to do the extra training on.

"He's making progress but it's a tough transition, what's he's doing."

Image source, Getty Images

Ulster head coach Richie Murphy is expecting Werner Kok to make his debut for the province in this weekend's friendly away to Exeter Chiefs.

The South African back-three player signed from the Sharks this summer but was not involved in last weekend's 26-19 pre-season win over Benetton in Belfast.

In what is the final tune-up before Ulster's URC season begins against champions Glasgow on 21 September, Kok should feature at Sandy Park.

"We're hoping Werner will go," said Murphy.

"He picked up a very slight calf injury that kept him out of this game, it would have been crazy to play him.

"He should make next week."

Murphy will bring in the region of 27 players to Exeter, although those that toured South Africa with Ireland in the summer will again not be involved.

Having come off the bench against Benetton, Irish Olympian Zac Ward, who is on trial with Ulster, will get another chance to impress.

Having starred at the Paris Games in sevens, Ward has been transitioning back into 15s rugby while also learning a new position.

"He's literally here two weeks," reminded Murphy.

"He's had five training sessions. He was a back-row forward when he went to sevens, now he's on the wing. It's so different.

"Over the next couple of months, we'll be trying to upskill him and get him to a place where he feels comfortable on the wing."

Image source, Getty Images

Summer arrival Aidan Morgan will make his Ulster debut in Saturday's opening pre-season friendly against Benetton at Kingspan Stadium.

Fly-half Morgan, 23, will partner Nathan Doak in the half-backs with Ireland Sevens player Zac Ward named on the bench as he continues his trial with the Irish province.

Ulster's other major summer acquisition wing Werner Kok, who arrived from the Sharks, will not feature in Saturday's game.

James McNabney is named in the back row following his promotion from the Ulster Academy.

The bench includes James Humphreys and Scott Wilson, who also have moved up from the province's academy squad.

Mike Lowry will captain the side from full-back with Academy player Rory Telfer, who represented Ireland at this summer's Under-20 World Cup, and Aaron Sexton occupying the wing berths and Jude Postlethwaite and Stewart Moore selected at centre.

Ulster's front row includes another trialist Corrie Barrett who will pack down with Eric O'Sullivan and John Andrew.

Harry Sheridan will partner Kieran Treadwell in the second row with McNabney joined by Sean Reffell and David McCann in the back row.

Ulster: Lowry; Telfer, Moore, Postlethwaite, Sexton; Morgan, Doak; O'Sullivan, Andrew, Barrett; Sheridan, Treadwell; McNabney, Reffell, McCann.

Replacements: McCormick, Reid, Wilson, A O'Connor, Marcus Rea, McKee, Humphreys, Carson, Walker, Irvine, McKillop, Brigg, Shanahan, Ward, Murphy.

Image source, Getty Images

Eimear Considine is in line to win her first Ireland cap in more than two years after being called up as injury cover for Meabh Deely.

Munster full-back Considine has not featured on the international stage since April 2022 but recently featured in the women's interpros after recovering from an anterior cruciate ligament injury.

Considine, who has 26 caps, is an experienced replacement for Deely, who sustained an injury playing for Connacht in the interpros.

Meanwhile, Munster's Jane Clohessy has been prevented from linking up with the Ireland squad as a training panellist because of a knee injury sustained against Leinster.

Ireland host Australia in a one-off Test at Belfast's Kingspan Stadium on 14 September before travelling to Vancouver for their WXV1 campaign, which features games against New Zealand, Canada and the United States.

Image source, Inpho

Ulster will play their festive interprovincials against Munster and Connacht on 20 and 28 December respectively.

When the United Rugby Championship released their fixture list in May, the traditional Christmas derbies had been listed without dates or kick-off times.

Leinster will host Connacht at the Aviva Stadium on 21 December before Leo Cullen's men travel to Thomond Park to face Munster on 27 December.

In another change, Ulster's away game against the Lions in Johannesburg on 28 September will now kick off at 11:55 BST.

URC festive interprovincials

20 December: Ulster vs Munster, 19:35 BST

21 December: Leinster vs Connacht, 17:30 BST

27 December: Munster vs Leinster, 19:35 BST

28 December: Connacht vs Ulster, 19:35 BST