Andy Farrell has named a 36-man Ireland squad for the opening rounds of the new Nations Championship Southern Hemisphere Series, with Caelan Doris to captain the side and three uncapped Connacht players included for the trip to Australia and New Zealand.

Props Billy Bohan and Sam Illo, together with back row Sean Jansen, are the new names in a squad that will open Ireland’s campaign against Australia in Sydney on Saturday, July 4th, before facing Japan in Newcastle on July 11th and New Zealand at Eden Park in Auckland on July 18th.

The squad will travel to Sydney on Monday, with Farrell describing the opening three fixtures as the start of the road towards Finals Weekend in London.

Bohan was part of Ireland’s Guinness Men’s Six Nations squad earlier this year without winning a cap, while Illo and Jansen have both featured previously with Emerging Ireland. Their inclusion is another strong marker for Connacht, with the province providing six players in all across the squad.

There is a significant injury list, with Ryan Baird, Shayne Bolton, Jack Boyle, Jack Crowley, Edwin Edogbo, Tom Farrell, Mack Hansen, Paddy McCarthy, Calvin Nash and Andrew Porter all unavailable.

The forward group includes Tadhg Beirne, Jack Conan, Tadhg Furlong, Joe McCarthy, James Ryan, Dan Sheehan, Josh van der Flier and Doris, giving Farrell a strong base of experience around the newer faces.

In the backs, Bundee Aki, Garry Ringrose, Robbie Henshaw, Jamison Gibson-Park and Hugo Keenan are among those selected, alongside Harry Byrne, Sam Prendergast, Jamie Osborne, Tommy O’Brien, Jimmy O’Brien, Robert Baloucoune and Jacob Stockdale.

The new competition is an important one for rugby on and off the pitch. The Nations Championship brings together the leading northern and southern hemisphere nations in a structured tournament model, with Ireland’s opening series taking them to three major rugby markets and to places with deep Irish connections.

That diaspora element is part of the attraction. Farrell referenced the likely Irish support in Sydney, Newcastle and Auckland, and from a commercial point of view these matches offer the IRFU and its partners a global stage beyond the more familiar rhythm of the Six Nations and Autumn internationals.

As reported previously on Sport for Business, Irish broadcast arrangements for the Nations Championship have been secured by Virgin Media Television, which will show all 42 matches from the tournament, including Ireland’s fixtures, free-to-air in the Republic of Ireland. The Ireland games will be live on Virgin Media One and Virgin Media Play, while ITV will carry the matches in the UK.

That ensures a broad domestic audience for a tournament that is designed to create a more consistent annual narrative around international rugby outside World Cup cycles.

It also sits neatly alongside the strength of the IRFU’s sponsorship portfolio. Vodafone remains the principal sponsor of the Ireland men’s team, following the four-year extension announced in 2023 that runs through to 2028.

The wider Irish Rugby partner family also includes PwC, Canterbury, Guinness, Aviva, Bank of Ireland, Opel and Energia, as well as DHL which renewed its long-standing partnership earlier this year as Official Logistics Partner.

 

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Image Credit: IRFU

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