Munster loose-head Jeremy Loughman is unavailable after suffering a head injury in last weekend’s 33-31 victory over Australia, and head coach Andy Farrell may decide to keep his powder dry with tight-head Tadhg Furlong as the eagerly-anticipated clash with New Zealand looms.

Ireland lose Loughman for Japan clash, wait on Baloucoune fitness

A difficult season for the 23-year-old looks set to end on a high.

Leinster have confirmed the signing of Ireland international Joey Carbery

Uncapped Ulster duo, brothers Bryn and Zac Ward have been called up in their places and will depart for Sydney with the rest of the squad on Monday.

The Brideswell native has been included in Andy Farrell’s 36 man squad for the inaugural Nations Championship next month

Andy Farrell's contract was set to expire after the World Cup next year, but he has now signed a contract for an additional four years.

The Ireland wing touched down twice in the second half, taking his overall tally to 71, as Leinster eased to a 59-10 victory over Lions in Dublin

Lowe has been recalled to the Leinster team to make his 100th appearance for the province in their URC quarter-final against the Lions at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday.

It is likely that Crowley will see a specialist over an injury, which places a doubt over his availability for Ireland’s summer matches against Australia, Japan and New Zealand.

Ireland is looking for three wins in a Six Nations campaign for the first time since 2020, in their first standalone game in the Aviva Stadium, with over 30,000 tickets sold.

The 27-year-old will join Munster on a two-year contract.

Having made over 250 appearances for Leinster, McGrath has won a Champions Cup and seven URC titles.

In one of the biggest success stories in Irish rugby in the last two seasons, O'Brien has played his way into Leinster and Ireland's starting 15.

Right-wing Angelo Davids set the ball rolling with just five minutes gone before centre Henco van Wyk and then flanker Sibabalwe Mahashe went over.

After recovering from injury, the Munster fly-half has been key once again to get her club to another final, where they will face Blackrock this weekend.

Munster's last game was a defeat to Exeter in the Challenge Cup last 16, where a poor first half ended their European season.

Three players who came through the ranks with Creggs are set to feature for the Irish U-21 women’s rugby team on an historic afternoon

The club played host to a test between Ireland U-19s and France U-20s Development XV

It means Snyman will miss Leinster's last-16 clash in the Champions Cup against Edinburgh, as well as their URC run-in. 

There is strong Roscommon interest in the inaugural Ireland U-21 women’s rugby squad

He has played for Ireland 11 times, including at the 2019 World Cup, and was captain of Connacht from 2022-2024.

Going into the tournament, the game was not in a positive place, with the amount of kicking and stoppages in games being questioned

Andy Farrell’s side were seconds away from championship glory when Thomas Ramos landed a last-gasp penalty to retain the title for France with a gripping 48-46 win over England.

James Ryan misses out through injury. 

Ireland go into the penultimate round of fixtures in third place, six points adrift of reigning champions France, who can retain the title with a game to spare by securing a bonus-point success away to Scotland on Saturday.

According to a report in The Irish Independent, Saracens will offer the Ireland boss a €1.2 million a season deal to become their head coach after the tournament.

Andy Farrell’s side responded to their detractors in emphatic fashion by securing Ireland’s largest win at Twickenham courtesy of a stunning display in the Guinness Six Nations.

Handling errors and mistakes from England have been taken advantage of by Andy Farrell's side, who could not have wished for a better opening 40 minutes.

He was instrumental in the Irish U-20 rugby team producing a big upset as they beat England in front of over 13,000 people

Jack Crowley replaces Sam Prendergast, who has been left out of the matchday squad, with Ciarán Frawly as the backup option at fly-half.

The 23-year-old was born and raised in Cobh, County Cork to Nigerian parents.

Fly-half Prendergast endured a difficult outing against the Azzurri in Dublin, including missing two straightforward conversions.

The head coach accused his players of lacking intent during a one-sided championship opener in Paris, which further fuelled talk of Ireland being a team in decline.

Both players have been rewarded for their form with Ulster, as Ireland look to get back on track in the Six Nations following their opening round defeat to France.

Aged 21, Stockdale was crowned player of the championship in 2018 after scoring a then-tournament record seven tries in five outings.

He will line out in the backrow on Saturday evening

The Irish free-to-air broadcaster has announced it will air all 42 fixtures from each edition of the fresh international rugby tournament in 2026 and 2028.

Keenan underwent hip surgery following an injury picked up during the British and Irish Lions tour in Australia.

Leinster scored four tries as they claimed a 34-23 victory over Connacht

Leinster will travel to Connacht this Saturday boosted by the availability of Ciaran Frawley and Jack Conan

Munster slipped to a second Champions Cup defeat after going down 27-25 away to Toulon in pool two

Ulster held off a rousing second-half fightback from Connacht to close out a hard-fought 29-24 win at Dexcom Stadium