Irish Rugby

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Ireland forwards coach Paul O'Connell said captain Caelan Doris "feels really good" as his side prepare to face the All Blacks in Chicago on Saturday.

Leinster back row Doris has not played since his province's defeat by Northampton Saints in the Champions Cup semi-finals in May.

He sustained a shoulder problem that required surgery in that game and missed the British and Irish Lions' series win in Australia during the summer.

Despite not featuring in Leinster's first five games of the 2025-26 United Rugby Championship, O'Connell said there has been "very little minding" of Doris in the build-up to Saturday's contest at Soldier Field (20:10 GMT).

"He's been through a very good return to play period now and he's had a good few weeks," said the former lock of the side's skipper.

"There's been very little minding of him or anything like that - there hasn't been any.

"He's fine, he's trained really well, he feels really good, he's shown no ill-effects whatsoever."

Given Doris' lack of match action, it remains to be seen whether he will face Scott Robertson's side from the start or make his return from the bench.

"There's one train of thought that says you start a guy like that because he could come on after a minute anyway, and there's another train of thought that says you bring him off the bench," added O'Connell.

Ireland have Jack Conan, who himself has not played since the Lions' third Test against Australia in August, as another option at number eight.

For what is Andy Farrell's first game in charge of the side for 11 months after his sabbatical leading the Lions to victory down under, Ireland's 36-man squad travelled to Chicago last week with the full party taking part in training on Tuesday.

Bundee Aki (hip) and Robbie Henshaw (groin) were among the players who had travelled with knocks but O'Connell confirmed "everyone's good to go".

Back three players Hugo Keenan, Mack Hansen and Calvin Nash, as well as locks Joe McCarthy and Cormac Izuchukwu, did not travel because of injury.

Saturday's game is the start of an autumn series that will also see Farrell's side play Japan, Australia and South Africa in Dublin.

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On this week's Ireland Rugby Social, Conor and Gavin are joined by former Ireland captain Rory Best.

In the week that Ireland take on New Zealand in Chicago to start their autumn Test series, the trio take a trip down memory lane to Ireland's famous win over the All Blacks at Soldier Field in 2016.

Download and subscribe to the Ireland Rugby Socials now on BBC Sounds.

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Luke McGrath says Leinster owed their fans an improved performance as they shook off a sluggish start to the season to thrash Zebre in Dublin.

The United Rugby Championship holders came into Saturday's Aviva Stadium game on the back of three defeats in four, including last week's heavy loss to rivals Munster at Croke Park.

But despite handing out six debuts in a team shorn of their Ireland contingent, they overcame a spirited first-half showing from Zebre to score eight tries and seal a 50-26 win.

"It was such a tough week, especially after last weekend," captain McGrath told Premier Sports.

"We felt we owed it to our fans to put on a better performance and we're really pleased we were able to do that."

The scrum-half added: "It was far from perfect.

"There was so much inexperience in there, so much excitement before the game, so I'm happy for those six guys and thankfully we made it a good bonus-point win, something we haven't been amazing at this season."

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Ulster head coach Richie Murphy lamented his side's error count as their impressive start to the United Rugby Championship season was halted by the Lions at Ellis Park.

The Irish province went into the Johannesburg contest chasing a fourth straight win, and while an inspired Rob Baloucoune helped keep those hopes alive, the Lions scored seven tries to win 49-31.

In addition to Baloucoune's brilliant treble, James Hume and David McCann scores secured a try bonus point for Ulster, but Murphy was disappointed by his side's mistake-laden display at altitude.

"It's a difficult one to take in the end, we're in that game for 55, 60 minutes and let it get away from us in the end," said Murphy.

"Over the course of the game, our error count was probably too high and we just invited the Lions into the game.

"Scrum dominance from them put us under a lot of pressure, but it's a massive effort from the players in a very tough situation, 28 or 29 degrees at altitude, it's not an easy place to be."

On Baloucoune's hat-trick, Murphy added: "Incredible. We have an embarrassment of riches in the back three. Zac [Ward] has been on fire, Werner [Kok] has been really good and Mikey [Lowry]'s flying.

"Having Rob back is fantastic. He got through another full game, which is exciting for us, and long may that fitness level continue."

Juarno Augustus' late withdrawal elevated debutant Bryn Ward into the starting back row, while lock Joe Hopes made his first start.

"I thought both guys put in a big shift. There's going to be little thing there that we'll review and give them some feedback. It's good to see them both come through the game and contribute so much."

Following last week's bonus-point win over the Sharks in Durban, Ulster leave South Africa with six points from two games.

"You're never satisfied when you've lost a game that was in the balance at 60 minutes. Six points is a decent return, but we're still hurting today.

"It's really important when we get back into Belfast against Benetton in a few weeks that we flick the switch and get back to winning ways."

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Ulster centre Jude Postlethwaite is determined to push himself into the mix for an Ireland call-up after getting a taste of the Test environment over the summer.

Having previously been involved with Emerging Ireland, Postlethwaite was a training panellist for Ireland's tour to Georgia and Portugal.

The 23-year-old has also been named in the Ireland XV squad for next month's game against Spain and is hoping to use this season as a springboard after scoring six tries in 18 appearances for Ulster last term.

"Training with the players there was really important for me, just to see what the standard is," Postlethwaite said of his Ireland experience over the summer.

"Also working with the coaches to see what it is I need to do to improve when I get my chances to start or come off the bench, like what I need to do to prove to them that I'm capable of playing and getting the cap, but it was really good."

He added: "There's a lot of younger centres coming through that are really good and I've played with a lot of them so it'll be good competition once we all start getting gametime. It's like who can perform and it'll keep me on my toes, but it's a really exciting season ahead."

After being sprung from the bench in Ulster's wins over the Bulls and Sharks, Postlethwaite will make his first start of the season in Saturday's game against the Lions at Ellis Park (12:45 BST).

And after a deeply disappointing 2024-25 campaign that ended without Investec Champions Cup qualification, Postlethwaite says he senses an uptick in "belief and desire" in the Ulster squad as they target a fourth successive United Rugby Championship win.

"I feel like this has been building since pre-season," added the former RBAI pupil, who won a Six Nations Under-20 Grand Slam with Ireland in 2022.

"Our pre-season was really tough. Mark [Sexton] coming in [as attack coach] fought hard for that belief. He's obviously a really good coach and put the foundations in place for our attack.

"I feel like I know what we can do in training and when it comes off, you can tell in the games, it's hard for teams to defend."

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Leinster head coach Leo Cullen has included five uncapped players in his matchday squad for Saturday's United Rugby Championship game against Zebre at Aviva Stadium (17:30 BST).

Full-back Hugo McLaughlin and prop Jerry Cahir make their debuts from the start, with prop Alex Usanov, fly-half Caspar Gabriel and hooker Bobby Sheehan - British and Irish Lions and Ireland hooker Dan Sheehan's younger brother - named on the bench.

With 22 Leinster players on Ireland duty, Cullen has made 14 changes from last week's dispiriting 31-14 defeat by rivals Munster at Croke Park, with Max Deegan the only player retained.

Joshua Kenny earns his first start on the right wing after making his debut off the bench against the Sharks a fortnight ago, with Andrew Osborne on the left.

Experienced scrum-half Luke McGrath captains the side as Harry Byrne returns at fly-half.

France prop Rabah Slimani starts at tight-head while Springbok second row RG Snyman is on the bench.

URC holders Leinster have lost three of their first four URC games.

Leinster: McLaughlin; Kenny, Cooney, Tector, A Osborne; Byrne, McGrath; Cahir, McKee, Slimani, Deeny, Mangan, Deegan, Penny, Culhane.

Replacements: B Sheehan, Usanov, Sparrow, Snyman, Soroka, Connors, Gunne, Gabriel.

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Joe Hopes will make his first Ulster start after being named in the second row for Saturday's United Rugby Championship game against the Lions at Ellis Park (12:45 BST).

With Iain Henderson on Ireland duty, 21-year-old lock Hopes comes in to partner Harry Sheridan after making his second Ulster appearance off the bench in last week's bonus-point win over the Sharks in Durban.

Hooker Rob Herring captains the side on his return to the line-up, with Tom Stewart switching to open-side flanker to replace Ireland's Nick Timoney after filling in as a back-row forward in the second half of the Sharks game.

Sean Reffell was ruled out earlier this week, but Juarno Augustus has been passed fit to start at number eight after being forced off with an arm injury in Durban.

In the backline, Zac Ward and Jude Postlethwaite replace Jacob Stockdale and Stuart McCloskey, both of whom are with Ireland, while Rob Baloucoune comes in for Werner Kok on the right wing.

Bryn Ward - Zac's younger brother - is in line to make his debut after being named on the bench.

The 21-year-old back row, who has been capped by Ireland at under-20 level, travelled out to South Africa to link up with the Ulster squad earlier this week.

Ulster are targeting a fourth successive win to start the URC season after picking up a maximum 15 points from their first three outings. Saturday's fixture in Johannesburg is the province's last match until 28 November because of the autumn break.

Ulster: Lowry; Baloucoune, Hume, Postlethwaite, Z Ward; Murphy, Doak; Crean, Herring (capt), O'Toole, Sheridan, Hopes, McCann, Stewart, Augustus.

Replacements: McCormick, Reid, Wilson, Dalton, B Ward, McKee, Flannery, Kok.

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Ireland back row Jack Conan says a hangover from the British and Irish Lions tour "is not on anyone's mind" before the Chicago rematch with New Zealand.

Andy Farrell's Lions' panel contained 18 Ireland players, but Leinster - who had a 14-strong contingent in Australia - have lost three out of four United Rugby Championship games this season.

Ireland will face New Zealand in Chicago on 1 November at Soldier Field, where the they famously defeated the All Blacks for the first time in 2016.

"I don't think it's a thing myself," said Conan when asked if he had any worries about a lingering hangover for Ireland from the Lions tour.

"I don't think anyone could say that Tadhg Beirne has had a Lions malaise or however you put it. Over the weekend [in Munster's 31-14 win over Leinster] he was fantastic.

"Obviously things didn't go right for the Leinster lads against Munster the other day but there was still some good performances in there.

"It's not something that is on anyone's mind. I think the lads will be fresh and ready to go. There will be no lack of motivation for next week or the coming weeks."

Conan missed the Munster defeat with a "niggle" but could make his first appearance of the season in Chicago against New Zealand.

As a large number of Ireland's internationals were away with the Lions in the summer, the last time a full-strength Irish side played together was in March's Six Nations finale in Italy.

In that time, New Zealand have played nine matches and narrowly missed out on winning the Rugby Championship - and Conan says Farrell's side will be ready to face the All Blacks despite the lack of international minutes.

"It's unacceptable in this environment to have any excuses for not performing well," Conan said.

"There's no excuses. It's great to be over here now to have the time to train together without the distraction of travel.

"We'll prep really well for next week. We've done it before and we'll do it again."

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Ulster hooker Tom Stewart will captain an Ireland XV against Spain in Leganes on Saturday, 8 November.

Stewart will lead a 28-strong panel which consists of test-capped Ireland players, in-form provincial players and emerging talent.

The 24-year-old is one of nine players who have appeared for Ireland's senior team alongside Tom O'Toole, Michael Milne, Darragh Murray, Robert Baloucoune, Shayne Bolton, Harry Byrne, Michael Lowry and Ben Murphy.

Scott Wilson, David McCann, Nathan Doak, Jack Murphy, Jude Postlehwaite and former Ireland sevens star Zac Ward join Stewart, O'Toole, Baloucoune and Lowry in a 10-strong Ulster contingent for the game against Spain, who came second in the Europe International Championship behind Georgia.

Cullie Tucker, who was part of Ireland's summer coaching team in Georgia and Portugal, will be head coach for the game in Spain, which takes place after Andy Farrell's senior team host Japan in Dublin at 12:30 GMT.

Ireland XV Squad

Forwards: Lee Barron (Munster), James Culhane (Leinster), Sam Illo (Connacht), Sean Jansen (Connacht), Diarmuid Mangan (Leinster), David McCann (Ulster), John McKee (Leinster), Michael Milne (Munster), Darragh Murray (Connacht), Evan O'Connell (Munster), Tom O'Toole (Ulster), Ruadhan Quinn (Munster), Alex Soroka (Leinster), Tom Stewart - captain (Ulster), Alex Usanov (Leinster), Scott Wilson (Ulster)

Backs: Robert Baloucoune (Ulster), Shayne Bolton (Connacht), Harry Byrne (Leinster), Nathan Doak (Ulster), Cathal Forde (Connacht), Fintan Gunne (Leinster), Dan Kelly (Munster), Michael Lowry (Ulster), Ben Murphy (Connacht), Jack Murphy (Ulster), Jude Postlethwaite (Ulster), Zac Ward (Ulster).

Matt Gault
BBC Sport NI senior journalist

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Harry Sheridan has two objectives this week: help Ulster beat the Lions and catch the Traitors.

In between the two legs of Ulster's South African tour, the squad have been playing their own version of the popular BBC gameshow.

"We're in the deep end now, there's two traitors left out of 14 people and I'm still in," said Sheridan.

Sheridan insists he is a Faithful and reckons fly-half Jack Murphy and centre Stewart Moore are "definitely sus (suspicious)" when asked about the remaining Traitors.

Come Saturday, Sheridan's newfound calling as a tenacious Traitor-hunter will take a backseat when Ulster step out at Ellis Park to face the Lions in the United Rugby Championship (12:45 BST).

In the early stages of what proved a torturous 2024-25 season, Ulster lost both games in South Africa, conceding a combined 82 points against the Lions and Bulls.

This season has so far been a smoother ride with three bonus-point wins from three games. Now, having sunk the Sharks in Durban, they have the chance to do a rare double on South African soil.

But Sheridan insists Ulster must overcome a multitude of factors to land a big victory in Johannesburg.

"I think with the Irish (international) lads away, a bit of rotation and then obviously the altitude and the fact that the Lions are such a great, dangerous team, especially at home, it's a completely different challenge," added the 24-year-old second row.

"I'd say it's certainly going to be one of the hardest games of the year. If we can front up there, it'll put us in a really good place."

Sheridan, who has played for the Ireland Under-20 and Emerging Ireland teams, played all 80 minutes in Ulster's wins over the Dragons and Sharks, with a late cameo off the bench in the victory over the Bulls.

After a trying campaign last year, he says he is benefitting from conducting more robust reviews of his own performances.

"It's definitely about having a review process. Last year, I maybe flew through things willy-nilly and didn't lock down why these things went wrong, I just dismissed them," he said.

"This year I've been very particular about going through my strengths and weaknesses and what I want to do after each game to review them."

Odhran Crumley
BBC Sport NI Journalist

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Tadhg Beirne believes that the current Ireland side can create their own "little bit of history" against New Zealand in Chicago next week.

Ireland will return to Soldier Field to take on the All Blacks on Saturday, 1 November in a repeat of the famous win in 2016.

That win in Chicago was the first time Ireland had defeated New Zealand in 29 attempts across 111 years and Beirne, who had just joined Welsh side Scarlets, has his own memories of the game fresh in his mind.

"I was sitting around watching the game with my mates and having a drink," Munster second row Beirne said.

"I was nowhere near this team back then, I just remember being a proper Irish fan that day and being really excited about the game and watching it, screaming at the TV and loving every minute of it."

British and Irish Lion Beirne won the first of his 61 Ireland caps two years after that win, and he is relishing the chance to beat the All Blacks on American soil.

"It's a very cool stadium and has very good memories for a lot of Irish people, so getting to be part of that would be pretty special," the Munster lock said.

"It is going to be an incredible occasion. It is not too often you get to go somewhere like America to play a rugby game, especially against a team like New Zealand so if we come away with a win it would be a special game."

Beirne believes that victory nine years ago helped future Irish sides by dispelling the air of invincibility around the All-Blacks. Ireland have since won four more games between the sides and the 32-year-old is convinced history will repeat itself next week.

"Ireland were knocking on the door for such a long time to try and beat the All Blacks," said Beirne.

"There was that perception that they are a little bit unbeatable and that put a little crack on it for future Irish teams going forward.

"I have been lucky enough to be involved in a few Irish teams that have beaten them, and I think we have confidence from over the last couple of years that we are more than capable of beating them, and it will be no different in Chicago."

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Tom Farrell has signed a two-year contract extension with Munster just two days after being added to the Ireland squad.

The 32-year-old centre was called up to the national team on Monday after playing a starring role in Munster's 31-14 United Rugby Championship win over Leinster at Croke Park on Saturday.

Farrell has been a hit with Munster fans since joining the province in 2024 after a seven-year spell at Connacht, winning the club's player of the year award as well as the URC playmaker of the year award after scoring 10 tries in 25 appearances.

The Dublin-born player, whose new deal keeps him at Munster until 2028, was previously called into the Ireland squad by Joe Schmidt for the 2019 Six Nations, but did not play because of injury.

Farrell was not selected for Ireland's summer to Georgia and Portugal, and while he was not initially named in the autumn panel, he was added on Monday and has travelled with the squad to Chicago ahead of next week's All Blacks game

Matt Gault
BBC Sport NI senior journalist

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Ulster defence coach Willie Faloon says beating the Lions in Saturday's United Rugby Championship game (12:45 BST) would be a "huge statement" after losing the squad's Ireland contingent.

The in-form Irish province, who have started the URC season with a hat-trick of bonus-point wins, go into this weekend's contest at Ellis Park without Jacob Stockdale, Stuart McCloskey, Iain Henderson and Nick Timoney, who have left for international duty before next week's Test against New Zealand in Chicago.

All four started Ulster's impressive 34-26 win over the Sharks in Durban last week and Faloon admits losing four players of their calibre in the middle of a South African tour has been less than ideal.

"A little bit disruptive," he said when asked about the departures following the Sharks game.

"We've had some players come out to bolster our numbers but we're probably down a couple and then you're losing four lads who have lots of IQ and are big leaders around the group as well, so it is disruptive, but I think the lads have been going well."

Faloon added: "It'd be a statement for our squad. To lose the four guys that we have, for our squad to step up and deliver a performance as good would be a huge statement."

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Ulster are also without flanker Sean Reffell and Ireland international Cormac Izuchukwu - who Faloon revealed has sustained a "small fracture" in his foot - but they remain hopeful that Juarno Augustus will feature on Saturday.

The South African number eight was withdrawn at half-time against the Sharks with an arm injury, but Faloon says he has not yet been ruled out.

"We're still monitoring him. He's played a little bit of a role in training this week. We're just going to see how he goes come Saturday," he said of the summer signing.

Having seen off a Sharks team loaded with Springboks last time out, Ulster must become acclimatised to the heat and altitude as they look to go two from two on their South African tour and sign off for the autumn break with a fourth straight win.

"It's a huge task. We're under no illusions there. We know what's going to face us in the Lions with the heat and altitude.

"It would be a brilliant return for us."

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