Irish Rugby

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Connacht scrum-half Matthew Devine will make the switch to Ulster at the end of the current season.

The 23-year-old will arrive on a one-year contract and reunites with Ulster head coach Richie Murphy who he played under when Ireland U20s won the 2022 Six Nations Grand Slam

Devine, who also worked with Ulster assistant coach Mark Sexton during his spell with the western province, has scored three tries this season for Connacht after graduating from the province's academy system.

"I'm delighted to sign with Ulster Rugby and can't wait to make the move up north," Devine said.

"It's a brilliant opportunity for me to join a team who are making great strides forward and playing some of the most exciting, attacking rugby in the URC.

"Having worked with the coaching staff before with the U20s, I have a great relationship with them, and I feel their style suits my game. I'm looking forward to meeting my new teammates and the Ulster supporters."

Devine will bolster Murphy's options at scrum-half with Ulster Rugby general manager Rory Best delighted to secure the services of the Ballinasloe native.

"We feel we have secured one of the most talented young scrum-halves in Ireland, who has a strong desire to kick on in his career and develop with his high potential,"Best said.

"He will add strong competition to our scrum half positions moving forward."

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Ireland lock James Ryan feels a quick start away to France in the Six Nations opener is "unbelievably important" for the visitors.

Andy Farrell's side will begin their 2026 campaign at the Stade de France on Thursday (20:10 GMT) in a game brought forward to avoid a clash with the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics on Friday.

While Ireland beat France in Marseille two years ago, and won at the Stade de France against Scotland and South Africa during the 2023 World Cup, they have not beat Les Bleus at the venue since 2018.

"I think a big start is definitely unbelievably important for us," said Ryan.

"They get the tails up and the crowd get behind them and they're into their flow, so a fast start for us is always important but particularly so this weekend.

"I think going away from home over in Paris, you've got to start well."

The Leinster lock, who has 76 caps for Ireland having made his debut in 2017, is expecting the set-piece to be an important battle ground in the game.

"The line-out drive and the scrum is a huge part of their DNA, it's probably something that gives them a lot of belief," he added.

"So it's a big challenge for us as well up front in terms of the set-piece. We're unbelievably excited about that too."

Should Farrell choose to hand a debut, most likely from the bench, to Munster's Edwin Edogbo, Ireland's effort at the set-piece would be boosted by the uncapped 23-year-old's 127kg frame.

Edogbo missed nearly two years with Achilles injuries but has impressed for his province this season to earn an Ireland call.

"He's hit the ground running really well in here and he's a serious athlete," said Ryan.

"Since he's come back from that long lay-off with the injuries he's had, he's been really impressive. He's been great since he's come in."

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The Wolfhounds became the first side to book a semi-final place in the 2025-26 Celtic Challenge with a comprehensive 44-10 victory over Gwalia Lightning in Cork on Sunday afternoon.

The hosts, who boasted 10 Irish internationals including new captain Erin King in their starting line-up, ran in eight tries across the game, including three in the opening seven minutes.

Maggie Boylan, Eve Higgins and Vicky Elmes Kinlan all crossed in the early going, although fly-half Dannah O'Brien missed the conversion of all three scores to keep her side's lead to 15-0.

Carys Hughes got the Lightning on the board with a penalty but the Wolfhounds scored three further tries before half-time with India Daley, Aoibheann Reilly and Fiona Tuite getting over for scores that gave their side a 32-3 half-time lead.

The second half was a more even affair with 24 minutes passing after the restart before replacement Maebh Clenaghan crashed over from a powerful maul.

The Ulster hooker scored her second off the bench, this time off a short line-out, with 12 minutes remaining.

Gwalia, who came into this round of fixtures second in the standings, scored a late consolation try through Chloe Thomas-Bradley in the 77th minute.

The victory means the defending champions have recorded six consecutive bonus-point wins in the competition and have secured their play-off spot with four games to spare.

Six points ahead of their fellow Irish side Clovers, Neill Alcorn's side will be seeking to secure home advantage in the semi-finals when their competition resumes against Glasgow Warriors on February 15.

One day prior, the Lightning host Clovers who are one place and two points above them in the table in what will be a key fixture for play-off permutations.

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Ireland assistant coach Simon Easterby said every member of the squad was available to train on Sunday as the panel continue preparations for their Six Nations opener away to France on Thursday night.

Ireland have based themselves in Portugal before the Paris curtain-raiser to the 2026 championship (20:10 GMT) with their camp in Quinta do Lago disrupted by news of Bundee Aki's suspension and losing Hugo Keenan to injury.

Tight-head prop Tadhg Furlong had also missed training earlier in the week thanks to an ongoing calf problem but was fit to take part in Sunday's sessions.

The 33-year-old was replaced after 16 minutes of Leinster's Champions Cup win on 17 January.

"We've been happy with the majority of the lads who have been training, and some of them have come in with little niggles, but everyone's progressing really well and we had everyone available to train," Easterby said.

On Furlong, Easterby added: "He got through some good work, actually. He's progressed really well.

"I think [Sunday] was important and obviously [Monday] will be another important training day, but so far, so good."

On the other side of the scrum, Ireland are without their three first-choice loose-heads with Andrew Porter, Paddy McCarthy and Jack Boyle all out through injury.

Connacht's uncapped 20-year-old Billy Bohan, who has just five senior games under his belt, had been called into the squad as cover but, along with Leinster back Ciaran Frawley and Ulster number eight Bryn Ward, has returned to Dublin to join the Ireland 'A' squad who meet their England counterparts in Cork on Friday night.

'It's up to the young guys to step up'

Prior to the departure of that trio, 17 players in Ireland's 36-man panel in Portugal had 10 caps or fewer but Easterby feels newer faces have integrated well into the set-up.

"The young lads have already stepped up, they've connected up," Easterby said.

"I guess one of the real strengths of this group, and it always has been for the last four or five years, has been guys coming in who will get support from the more experienced players.

"It's up to the young guys to step up as well, and they've done that to a man. The more experienced players have been excellent in the way that they've brought players into the system and that makes it really encouraging, but also makes the training really competitive."

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Ulster captain Iain Henderson says the side are "by no means the finished article" after their 21-14 victory over Cardiff in the United Rugby Championship.

The Irish province led 14-0 at the break thanks to Scott Wilson's try and Angus Bell's superb score, but Cardiff attempted to stage a second-half comeback and scored two tries.

The result means that Ulster leapfrog Matt Sherratt's side up to fourth in the URC table and they have now lost just one of their last six games.

"I have been saying it all year, we knew things were bubbling in the last 18 months or so," Henderson said.

"Last week's game and this week's game shows that we are by no means the finished article, we have loads to work on.

"Fair play to the coaching staff and what they have brought our squad from last season to pre-season and to the start of this season."

Eight players from Richie Murphy's side are missing due to Ireland call-ups. However, the side scored three well-worked tries with Angus Bell registering a superb solo effort.

Ulster will return to URC action after the Six Nations with a trip to Wales to face seventh place Ospreys.

"That was awesome. What a night at the Affidea Stadium," Player of the Match Matthew Dalton added.

"It can't get better than that.

"We are sitting in a great position going into the next block."

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Clovers secured a 38-31 bonus-point victory over Glasgow Warriors to register their fourth victory in a row in the Celtic Challenge.

Faith Oviawe's try gave Clovers an early lead before Aoibheann McGrath touched down and Caitriona Finn added the extra two.

The away side pushed further ahead through Katie Whelan with Emily Coubrough closing the gap with a superb try from a scrum.

Just before the break, Anna McGann robbed Glasgow of the ball, charged forward and crossed the white line to extend Clovers' lead.

Shortly after the restart, McGrath added her second try of the afternoon following great link-up play from Sky Phimister and Alana McInerney.

Glasgow registered another try on the breakaway when Hollan Bogan touched down to make it 12-31

Millie Warren added another try for the home side, who were awarded a penalty try shortly after Clovers' Oviawe was shown a yellow card.

However, Denis Fogarty's side responded with Siofra Hession touching down and converting.

The tries weren't done there, though, with Briar McNamara securing the losing bonus-point for Glasgow seconds before the full-time whistle.

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Fly-half Jack Murphy has signed a two-year contract extension to remain at Ulster until 2028.

The 21-year-old arrived at the province in the summer of 2024 from Leinster and initially linked up with Ulster's academy side.

He was then promoted to the first team by his father and Ulster head coach Richie and made his debut against Munster in December 2024.

Murphy was the top points scorer in the 2024 Under-20 Six Nations Championship and his impressive form for Ulster this season has earned him a call-up to the Ireland XV side for February's fixture against England 'A' in Limerick.

"I'm very happy to be staying at Ulster for another two years. From the minute I joined I have felt very welcomed by the staff, players and the Ulster supporters," said Murphy, who has made 25 appearances for the province.

"I'm enjoying my time here and the opportunities to play in both the URC and Europe.

"We have showed the clear progress we are making together and I'm very driven to continue that development with my teammates in the future."

Ulster's general manager Rory Best added that tying Murphy down to a new deal was "another key contract priority" for the province following the recent extensions handed out to the likes of Nathan Doak and Cormac Izuchukwu.

"Jack has shown an impressive maturity for his age and has already shown that he can lead our attack from number ten," he said.

"His kicking game is a real point of difference for our style of play and the way we want to put pressure on the opposition.

"The exciting thing about Jack is the potential that he has, and we must continue trying to make the most from his talent over the seasons ahead."

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All Black Reiko Ioane returns to start in a much-changed Leinster side for their United Rugby Championship game against Edinburgh at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday.

Leo Cullen is without a host of Ireland internationals and makes 12 changes in total to the side that beat Connacht last weekend, a result that moved them up to third in the URC table.

Only Joshua Kenny, RG Snyman and Charlie Tector retain their places, with Tector switching to fly-half as Luke McGrath comes in to captain the side from scrum-half.

Ciaran Mangan and Andrew Sparrow will make their first starts for Leinster while Ruben Moloney, John McKee and Jerry Cahir come into the side.

Brian Deeny, Max Deegan, Scott Penny and Diarmuid Mangan are also included as Niall Smyth, Gus McCarthy, Will Connors and Fintan Gunne all drop to the bench.

Leinster: A Osborne; J Kenny, R Ioane, C Mangan, R Moloney; C Tector, L McGrath (capt); J Cahir, J McKee, A Sparrow; RG Snyman, B Deeney; M Deegan, S Penny, D Mangan.

Replacements: G McCarthy, A Usanov, N Smyth, C O'Tighearnaigh, J Eriscon, W Connors, F Gunne, H McLaughlin.

Five switches for Connacht for Zebre game

Connacht head coach Stuart Lancaster has made five changes for their trip to Parma take on Zebre on Saturday.

Darragh Murray, Billy Bohan, and captain Cian Prendergast, who started in last week's defeat to Leinster, all miss out with the latter pair away with Ireland at their Six Nations training camp in Portugal.

They are replaced by Niall Murray, Jordan Duggan and Sean O'Brien.

Jack Aungier comes in for the injured Sam Illo at tight-head prop while Chay Mullins starts in place of Finn Treacy on the left wing.

Oisin McCormack is amongst the replacements as he is named in the matchday squad for the first time this season.

Bundee Aki is not in the squad as he begins a four-game ban for "verbal abuse and disrespect" towards match official.

Connacht: S Gilbert; S Jennings; H West, C Forde; C Mullins, J Ioane; C Blade; J Duggan, D Tierney-Martin, J Aungier; J Murphy, J Joyce; P Boyle, S O'Brien, S Jansen.

Replacements: M Victory, P Dooley, F Barrett, D O'Connor, N Murray, B Murphy, S Naughton, O McCormack.

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Ireland Under-20s fly-half Tom Wood is set for his senior debut when Munster travel to Glasgow in the United Rugby Championship on Friday night (19:45 GMT).

The 19-year-old, who is the son of former Ireland captain Keith Wood, has been named on the bench with Jack Crowley among the Ireland internationals missing to prepare for the Six Nations and JJ Hanrahan injured.

Hanrahan had been set to start Munster's win over the Dragons last week but pulled out late, with Tony Butler instead starting at Musgrave Park.

Butler has kept the 10 jersey for the trip to Scotstown and will again form the half-back pairing with Ethan Coughlan.

Munster head coach Clayton McMillan has made four changes to the side that beat Dragons.

Centre Alex Nankivell will miss three to four weeks with a foot injury, meaning Diarmuid Kilgallen comes on to the wing with Shane Daly switching to midfield.

Props Josh Wycherley and Oli Jager take the places of Jeremy Loughman and Michael Alaalatoa respectively, while lock Evan O'Connell replaces South African World Cup winner Jean Kleyn in the second row.

Munster go into the game fifth in the URC, five points behind league leaders Glasgow.

Munster Rugby: M Haley; T Abrahams, S Daly, D Kelly, D Kilgallen; T Butler, E Coughlan; J Wycherley, D Barron (C), O Jager, E O'Connell, F Wycherley, S Edogbo, R Quinn, B Gleeson.

Replacements: L Barron, M Donnelly, J Ryan, G Coombes, J O'Donoghue, P Patterson, T Wood, S O'Brien.

Matt Gault
BBC Sport NI senior journalist

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Having missed last year's Six Nations because of his British and Irish Lions commitments, Ireland head coach Andy Farrell has been quickly reminded of the headaches that are part and parcel of preparing a squad before the championship.

Farrell is, of course, no stranger to squad-related stresses. In 2023, Jamison Gibson-Park and Cian Healy both withdrew injured from the matchday squad just hours before Ireland's Six Nations opener against Wales in Cardiff.

Ireland won that game 34-10 and went on to secure the Grand Slam, but the build-up to next week's curtain-raiser against holders France in Paris has felt particularly trying.

A few issues at least emerged well in advance. In early December, Connacht said it would be "months for sure" before Mack Hansen, a strong option at wing or full-back, returns from a foot injury.

But the problems have continued to mount for Farrell since he named a 37-man squad on 21 January.

With Andrew Porter and Paddy McCarthy already sidelined, Farrell's hand at loose-head prop was further weakened when Jack Boyle withdrew from the squad after sustaining a bad leg injury in Leinster's win over Connacht last weekend.

Given Ireland's chastening evening against South Africa's scrum in November, their absence may be keenly felt.

Munster flanker Tom Ahern also withdrew, with the uncapped Billy Bohan and Cormac Izuchukwu drafted in, but further problems have emerged after Ireland touched down in Portugal for their usual pre-tournament training camp.

Having already admitted that his injury list is "larger than normal", Farrell has lost full-back Hugo Keenan to a fractured thumb.

Keenan's training-ground injury is a cruel blow for the 29-year-old after having only returned from the hip problem that has kept him out since his star turn for the Lions last summer.

With the fly-half debate ongoing, 15 is now a problem position for Farrell. Jamie Osborne started there against New Zealand and Japan in November, and while he is in the squad, he has not played since the win over the Brave Blossoms.

Ulster's Jacob Stockdale, Leinster's Ciaran Frawley and Munster's Jack Crowley - who is also battling Sam Prendergast and Harry Byrne for the 10 shirt - are all options for Farrell to consider.

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Farrell will also be without veteran centre Bundee Aki for the France, Italy and England matches after he was suspended for verbally abusing match officials.

Aki was the subject of a misconduct complaint following Connacht's Unuted Rugby Championship loss to Leinster and was handed a four-game ban by an independent disciplinary committee that includes his club's game against Zebre this weekend.

While Aki will be available for Ireland's matches against Wales and Scotland, it remains to be seen whether Farrell brings him back into the squad.

Last year, Aki's Connacht team-mate Hansen was handed a three-match ban for comments he made about now-retired referee Chris Busby.

With Aki absent, Stuart McCloskey appears in pole position to start at inside centre in Paris next week after impressing there during an injury-hit autumn campaign.

The France game's unusual Thursday night slot had already shortened Farrell's preparation window, and with a growing list of absentees, leaving Paris with a victory next week would represent one of the most impressive achievements of the Englishman's six-year reign.