News

Highlights: March 2026

Triple Crown

Ireland capped their Guinness Six Nations off on a high with an outstanding 43-21 win against Scotland to secure the Triple Crown. However, Caelan Doris and his teammates fell agonisingly short of the outright title after Thomas Ramos nudged it back in France’s favour with a last-gasp penalty in Paris against England later that evening. 

Ramos’ late intervention brought an end to what was arguably the most exciting Six Nations Championship in memory. The tournament also highlighted the quality within the Irish set-up, most notably Stuart McCloskey who was justifiably nominated for Player of the Championship. Ireland’s fourth Triple Crown success in five years is reflected in the selection of McCloskey and forwards Tadhg Beirne, Caelan Doris and Jack Conan in the Team of the Championship.

In all, 35 players featured across Ireland’s campaign with Six Nations debuts for Robert Baloucoune, Tom Farrell, Cormac Izuchukwu, Michael Milne, Darragh Murray, Cian Prendergast, Tom Stewart and Nick Timoney. There were also full Irish Rugby debuts for Nathan Doak and Edwin Edogbo. 

W6N

With the Women’s Six Nations set to get underway, Erin King got stuck into her new commitments as captain of the side. This year she is joined in the squad by nine uncapped players. Amongst these is Beth Buttimer who was part of the World Cup squad last year, with Jemima Adams Verling, Eilís Cahill, Aoibheann McGrath, Sophie Barrett, Alana McInerney, Caitriona Finn, Niamh Gallagher, and Robyn O’Connor also included.

There has been considerable turnover since that World Cup, with nine of that group not included for the championship including duo Eimear Corri-Fallon and Nicole Fowley, as well as former captain Edel McMahon who is out for the season with a knee injury. Rugby Players Ireland Executive Board Member Amee-Leigh Costigan will also miss the Six Nations after confirming she is pregnant. 

Transition Workshop

In advance of W6N, the squad met with Eve McCrystal. A member of An Garda Síochána, McCrystal has won multiple Paralympic and World Championship medals as a pilot in Women’s Tandem events, forming a formidable partnership with Katie-George Dunlevy that included three Paralympic golds, two silvers, and five world titles. Her insight on resilience, life beyond sport, and balancing career and performance offered an inspiring perspective for the Irish squad.

APDNI

Rugby Players Ireland hosted the latest meeting of the Athlete & Player Development Network Ireland (APDNI). 15 practitioners across five different sporting associations gathered to share ideas, challenges, and experiences in supporting athletes and players.

Deals Done

Following the conclusion of the Men’s Six Nations, it was announced that Bundee Aki, Jamison Gibson-Park, Josh van der Flier and Dan Sheehan have committed their respective rugby futures to Ireland. 

Other dealings in March: 

Eoin de Buitléar, Shane Jennings, David O’Connor, Colm Reilly and Dylan Tierney-Martin have all signed on with Connacht Rugby, while the injured Byron Ralston has also been given a boost with a contract extension. 

Sean Edogbo and Ronan Foxe put pen to paper on their first senior deals with Munster Rugby, while Conor Ryan signed a two-year extension.

Jake Flannery and David McCann have locked in with Ulster Rugby.

Retirements

Two stalwarts of the Irish game announced their intentions to retire at the end of the current season.

Niall Scannell is Munster Rugby’s most-capped hooker of all-time and one of just 17 players to have made 200 or more appearances for Munster Rugby. He has also earned 20 Ireland caps, featuring in four games at the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan.

Connacht’s record points scorer Jack Carty played 231 times for Connacht Rugby since his 2012 debut, winning 11 caps for Ireland between 2019 and 2022. A few months ago we talked to Jack about how he is building a life away from the game through Cognitive Blends and Project Padel.

Read the interview here. 

UCD Smurfit School

Stacey Flood and Scott Penny joined us as we announced the launch of a new partnership with UCD Smurfit School. The collaboration will see two MBA scholarships offered to current and former players.

Tackle Your Feelings

Tackle Your Feelings (TYF) has taken on a European dimension with the launch of TYF Europe, a collaborative project co-funded by the European Union and led by the European Athletes and Players Association (EAPA) which aims to put athlete wellbeing at the heart of sport.

TYFE builds on the success of the Tackle Your Feelings campaign established in 2016 by Rugby Players Ireland. The project will work to reduce stigma and strengthen the systems that support athletes, bringing together nine athlete associations representing more than 11,000 professional and elite athletes across multiple sporting disciplines.

In further TYF related news, Jack O’Donoghue visited St. Joseph’s Secondary School in Tulla, Co. Clare, while Eimear Considine and Jordan Duggan were at Mercy College Woodford. There they were joined by former Connacht Rugby academy player Ciarán Booth who was travelling across Connacht by bicycle as he explores the province’s relationship with mental health. 

Beyond the Game

David Wallace has been appointed to the The British & Irish Lions Board of Directors, succeeding Tom Grace. 

Bryn Cunningham is joining Bath as their new Head of Recruitment. 

As part of our Transition Thursday series, we also spoke to several current and former players to explore their lives beyond the game.

Andrew Conway reflected on one year in business with 5XFlow, where he’s helping athletes and high achievers unlock sustained excellence. 

Former Irish Sevens captain Billy Dardis spoke to us about why he decided to establish The Ireland Sports Fund, a new initiative driven through the Rugby Players Ireland Foundation that is supporting players manage dual careers. 

We also spoke with current Irish international Aoife Wafer ahead of the Women’s Six Nations Championship. Following the Rugby World Cup last year, Aoife uprooted to England and has linked up with Harlequins while continuing her physiotherapy studies through St. Mary’s University, Twickenham.