The talking points from Ireland’s Six Nations squad

Andy Farrell has named his 37-man Six Nations squad, and it has sparked a lot of discussion.

Ireland’s squad has a fresh perspective, from the front row to the first call-ups for Edwin Edogbo and Nathan Doak.

Ireland will be putting pressure on favorites France and England after winning the Triple Crown last year but falling short in their bid for three consecutive titles.

Only three players were chosen for the 2025 Six Nations squad, which showed that Ulster’s form had deteriorated this year.

However, Richie Murphy’s young squad, who are currently third in the United Rugby Championship after topping their Challenge Cup pool, has had a revitalizing season.

In keeping with this, Farrell has chosen seven players to play for the upcoming Six Nations.

Stuart McCloskey, Robert Baloucoune, and Jacob Stockdale are just three of the squad’s uncapped players, with Doak one of them.

Tom Stewart, Tom O’Toole, and Nick Timoney have been given a reward for their performance in the forward pack.

However, Bryn Ward will join the squad in Portugal before the tournament in order to replace in-form wing Zac Ward, Cormac Izuchukwu, or stalwart Iain Henderson.

Former Ireland flanker Ferris remarked, “Over the past couple of seasons, Ulster players have had a pretty barren spell.”

“But Richie Murphy has gotten a lot out of his players, and their performance has been incredible over the past three or four months, and they have been back on top.”

The 25-year-old will likely play second-choice scrum-half behind Jamison Gibson-Park and Craig Casey, but he will have a chance to do well in the senior Ireland set-up.

Doak, who has 1, 840m of kick meters in the United Rugby Championship this year, and who has the third-highest URC points scorer, has a “huge opportunity,” according to Ferris, who believes it will be great.

Doak selected Leinster’s Luke McGrath and Connacht duo Caolin Blade and Ben Murphy.

He’s been fantastic this season, I believe. He had his critics last season, and last year, he almost became a villain for the fans because of how much John Cooney [who has since moved to Brive in France] enjoyed success, Fraters claimed.

“Neighboring Nathan Doak has shown a lot of people wrong, hasn’t he?”

Due to injury, Farrell will miss the likes of Andrew Porter, Mack Hansen, Ryan Baird, Robbie Henshaw, and Paddy McCarthy.

Hugo Keenan, Ciaran Frawley, Jamie Osborne, Tadhg Furlong, and Finlay Bealham are just a few players who have been injured and will not be playing in the match.

As Ireland’s strength and depth are put to the test, Michael Milne, Jack Boyle, and Jeremy Loughman have all had opportunities, particularly at prop.

“We’ll soon find out over the next few weeks whether these guys are up for the challenge.” According to Ferris, I believe Andy Farrell wants to learn more about that.

He is aware that he can rely on the well-known faces who have helped Irish rugby reach a certain point, but 33 good players are required to win the Rugby World Cup.

Henderson is a notable omission, but the Six Nations squad last year’s other notable names were missing.

Important players like Porter, Henshaw, and Baird have been injured, and Conor Murray, Cian Healy, and Cian Healy all have retired.

Under interim head coach Simon Easterby, the last year’s squad had 44.1 caps on average.

With Farrell returning from his time with the British and Irish Lions, that figure has dropped to 28.4 this year.

Ferris added that Henderson could have a place in the wider squad if he had the experience to play in the group that was “young blood snapping at the heels” of the Ulster second row.

Edogbo from Munster will give the forward pack an exciting presence, and Cian Prendergast and Tom Ahern are other intriguing options.

Is this the guard changing, or something else? Does Andy Farrell want to recruit some of the more recent men? “Ferris said,”

They might be some of the World Cup’s players he wants to call upon.

Farrell claimed that Ireland is aware of their “ready-to-hit-the-ground” on February 5 in Paris.

In 2025, Ireland clinched the Triple Crown, falling behind compatriots France and England in third place.

Farrell’s men face Italy and travel to England before staging their title defense in Paris on February 5.

They wrap up their campaign in Scotland and Wales.

Ferris doesn’t think the current Ireland squad will win the title because so many well-known faces have already been ruled out, but he hopes it will help the squad stay there in the future.

You almost need your entire deck to choose from if you travel to France and England, he said.

We’ll wait and see if they cause an upset, whether it’s in the first game or the one against England.