Head Coach Andy Farrell has named the Ireland Match Day Squad, sponsored by Vodafone, for Thursday night’s Guinness Men’s Six Nations opener against France in Paris.
Kick off for the game is at 20:10 with Live TV Coverage on Virgin Media One and Live Radio Coverage on RTÉ Radio.
Caelan Doris will lead the side as Ireland open their 2026 Championship campaign at Stade de France.
Jamie Osborne, Tommy O’Brien and Jacob Stockdale start in the Ireland back three, with Stuart McCloskey partnering Garry Ringrose in midfield, while Jamison Gibson-Park and Sam Prendergast are named in the half-backs.
In the pack, Jeremy Loughman, Dan Sheehan and Thomas Clarkson are in the front row, with Joe McCarthy and Tadhg Beirne in the second row and Cian Prendergast, Josh van der Flier and captain Doris in the back row.
Farrell has strong options available on the bench with Rónan Kelleher, Michael Milne, Finlay Bealham, James Ryan, Jack Conan and Nick Timoney the forward replacements, with backs Craig Casey and Jack Crowley completing Ireland’s Match Day 23.
“I’ve been pleased with the application of the squad since we linked up last week and we’ve a good body of work under our belts from our training camp in Portugal as we face into an exciting test match against France,” said Farrell.
“The Six Nations is an amazing tournament to compete in and it brings out the best in players.”
“We have played at the Stade de France many times and it’s a terrific stadium with an incredible atmosphere. We know from our experiences on the road how proud and vocal the travelling Irish support can be and it’s a huge motivator for the squad knowing that we have so many Irish supporters behind us.”
The Starting 15 has representation from all of the provinces with Leinster providing 10, Munster and Ulster two each and Connacht one.
Extending that out to the Match Day 23 we will have 13,5,3 and 2 players from each of the same provinces.
In 2025 those numbers were 16 for Leinster, three each for Munster and Connacht and one for Ulster.
In 2024 it was 16 for Leinster, six for Munster, One for Connacht and none from Ulster
Ireland (v France):
15. Jamie Osborne (Naas/Leinster)(10)
14. Tommy O’Brien (Blackrock College/Leinster)(6)
13. Garry Ringrose (UCD/Leinster)(69)
12. Stuart McCloskey (Bangor/Ulster)(23)
11. Jacob Stockdale (Lurgan/Ulster)(40)
10. Sam Prendergast (Lansdowne/Leinster)(13)
9. Jamison Gibson-Park (Leinster)(46)
1. Jeremy Loughman (Garryowen/Munster)(5)
2. Dan Sheehan (Lansdowne/Leinster)(35)
3. Thomas Clarkson (Blackrock College/Leinster)(10)
4. Joe McCarthy (Dublin University/Leinster)(19)
5. Tadhg Beirne (Lansdowne/Munster)(65)
6. Cian Prendergast (UCD/Connacht)(8)
7. Josh van der Flier (UCD/Leinster)(75)
8. Caelan Doris (St. Mary’s College/Leinster)(55)(captain)
Replacements:
16. Rónan Kelleher (Lansdowne/Leinster)(43)
17. Michael Milne (UCD/Munster)(2)
18. Finlay Bealham (Corinthians/Connacht)(54)
19. James Ryan (UCD/Leinster)(76)
20. Jack Conan (Old Belvedere/Leinster)(55)
21. Nick Timoney (Queen’s University/Ulster)(6)
22. Craig Casey (Shannon/Munster)(24)
23. Jack Crowley (Cork Constitution/Munster)(30).
Image Credit: Irish Rugby, Ramsey Cardy, Sportsfile
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