Irish Rugby

Image source, Getty Images

Ulster have signed prop Corrie Barrett on a one-year deal after a successful trial.

Barrett linked up with the squad in pre-season and featured in their friendly defeats against Benetton and Exeter Chiefs.

He previously played for Ulster ‘A’ as well as having spells with Munster ‘A’, Bedford Blues, Saracens, and most recently, Doncaster Knights in the RFU Championship last season.

And the 26-year-old expressed his excitement at returning to Belfast to play with the province.

“I’m delighted to sign with Ulster, as a youngster, it was always my goal to play for the club," he told Ulster's website.

"After four seasons in England, I’m excited about coming back home and getting to play with my home province.

“The setup has been very welcoming and seamless. I can already see with the calibre of players and coaches here that my game will improve.”

Image source, Inpho

Gus McCarthy will make his first start for Leinster in their opening United Rugby Championship game against Edinburgh at the Hive Stadium on Friday night.

The former Ireland Under-20 captain is named in the front row with Michael Milne and Thomas Clarkson.

Leo Cullen has opted for a mix of youth and experience with fellow academy graduates Charlie Tector and Conor O’Tighearnaigh also starting.

Tector partners Garry Ringrose at centre, as Jamison Gibson-Park returns from a hamstring injury, which ruled him out of Ireland's Test games against South Africa.

Jack Conan captains the side at number eight, with Max Deegan and Scott Penny also starting in an unchanged back row from the 54-26 pre-season win over Northampton Saints two weeks ago.

New signing Rabah Slimani, who arrived from Clermont is on the bench, while double World Cup winner RG Snyman is not in the squad.

Cian Healy will equal Devin Toner's club appearance record if he comes off the bench to play his 280th Leinster game.

Irish internationals Caelan Doris and James Lowe are missing, while Dan Sheehan is out with a knee injury.

Leinster: Jamie Osborne, Tommy O’Brien. Garry Ringrose, Charlie Tector, Jordan Larmour, Sam Prendergast, Jamison Gibson-Park, Michael Milne, Gus McCarthy, Thomas Clarkson, Conor O’Tighearnaigh, James Ryan, Max Deegan, Scott Penny, Jack Conan [captain].

Replacements: John McKee, Cian Healy, Rabah Slimani, Brian Deeny, James Culhane, Luke McGrath, Ross Byrne, Rob Russell.

Image source, Inpho

Ulster forward Harry Sheridan has signed a new two-year deal with the province which runs until 2027.

The Holywood native has become a prominent figure in the second row since his debut against La Rochelle in January 2023 and has racked up 29 appearances in the white jersey.

Sheridan, 22, was recognised for his progress when he received Ulster's Young Men’s Player of the Year for the 2023/24 season.

“I’m so happy to sign for a further two years," said Sheridan, who was named in Simon Easterby's Emerging Ireland squad.

"Last season was a huge year for me as I got more game-time in the senior side, and it was a massive learning curve in a season full of ups and downs.

"I’m looking forward to improving my game and rolling into this year where I finished the last one. We have a great forward pack that I love training and playing alongside.

"I am really enjoying the environment and going into training ready to work and learn. It’s a perfect start to the season for me and I can’t wait to get stuck into another season."

The Ulster Academy graduate has represented Ireland at Under-20s level, where he competed in the 2021 Six Nations Championship.

Image source, Inpho

Ulster scrum-half John Cooney and hooker Rob Herring will miss Saturday's United Rugby Championship opener at home to holders Glasgow.

Head coach Richie Murphy said Cooney, 34, picked up a hamstring injury and will be out for a "short time".

"He's probably not going to play this week," Murphy said.

"We've got a reasonably good fresh squad and we're ready to go".

Herring is ruled out of the game with a calf issue, while fellow hooker Tom Stewart is sidelined with an ankle injury.

Backs James Hume, Robert Baloucoune and Jake Flannery also miss out through injury.

Back row Reuben Crothers (knee) and wings Aaron Sexton (hamstring) and Zac Ward (groin) picked up injuries in Ulster's pre-season defeat by Exeter and will be monitored ahead of the URC opener in Belfast.

Captain Iain Henderson is available for selection after a toe injury forced him to miss Ireland's summer tour of South Africa.

"He brings so much experience and he is such a good guy within the group," Murphy added on Henderson.

Henderson added: "I feel like I am in great shape to come back in and play.

"It's going to be a difficult one starting against the champions. We're looking to get our season off to a good start."

Image source, Inpho

Ireland have moved up two places to seventh in the world rankings after their 36-10 win over Australia.

Scott Bemand’s side have overtaken Italy and USA to move into their highest position since August 2022.

Ireland will face New Zealand in Vancouver in the WXV1 competition on September 29 before playing hosts Canada and the USA with Bemand naming his travelling squad on Tuesday.

The Black Ferns, who were beaten by England on Saturday, are second in the rankings with Canada third and the USA eighth.

Image source, Inpho

Ulster head coach Richie Murphy was not concerned with the result of his side's pre-season defeat to the Exeter Chiefs at Sandy Park on Saturday.

Seven days prior to their URC campaign starting with the hosting of Glasgow Warriors at Kingspan Stadium, Ulster led late against the English opponents they will see again in the Champions Cup come January.

But Rob Baxter's side scored 17 unanswered points in the final quarter to win the friendly 31-15.

Murphy, however, was not too bothered by the result, focussing instead on how well the game prepared his side for the resumption of competitive action this weekend.

“We're not really too concerned about the scoreline," said the Ulster coach.

“It was more about getting the hit-out. Our maul attack and defence and some of our breakdown stuff was really good.

"Our ability to look after the ball is probably something we need to work on."

Ulster played the game without the likes of Iain Henderson, Tom O'Toole, Cormac Izuchukwu and Rob Herring, with Murphy pleased by how his side responded physically without so many of their first-choice pack.

“It was a brilliant workout and a very physical game for a friendly,” he added.

“I don’t think the score reflects what the game was like. I don’t think Exeter would have thought they had won by 16 points and towards the back end of a game we’re trying to get ready for [the] weekend so we’re pulling players off and bringing in young guys."

Image source, Inpho

Ireland head coach Scott Bemand believes Saturday's win over Australia at Kingspan Stadium is more evidence of a team on an upward trajectory.

Looking to build upon a third place finish in the 2024 Six Nations and qualification for next year's World Cup, the impressive hosts ran in six tries to beat the side ranked fifth in the world by a score of 36-10 in Belfast.

Aoife Wafer led the way with the back-row scoring twice and being named player of the match.

"It’s great to bring another winning performance back to Ireland," Bemand said.

"We said we wanted to take people along with us.

"They are a good team, a tier one nation. Being able to bring them to Ireland and put a performance out there gives the crowd something to get behind and gives the Irish public something so they can see that we are moving forward."

The team featured five players who had represented Ireland in sevens at the Paris Olympics this summer with Bemand feeling they provided a real boost to his panel, especially off the bench in the second half.

"It’s just fantastic to have that firepower," he added.

"We’ve had two weeks together, it’s not a lot of time.

"We think there’s still more to come from this group. We’ve left points out there. We want it to be up there but we know there’s still a bit to come."

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.