Bernard Jackman believes that Ulster could well have 10 players in the Ireland squad as Andy Farrell prepares to introduce \u201cnew blood\u201d into the squad.<\/b><\/p>\n
The head coach has based his team around Leinster over the past few years and it has paid dividends with them enjoying plenty of success since 2021.<\/p>\n
They won two Six Nations<\/a> titles in 2023 and 2024, defeated the All Blacks in New Zealand and topped the World Rugby rankings ahead of the 2023 Rugby World Cup.<\/p>\n However, they have endured a gradual decline since the global tournament in France, with many of the stalwarts now the wrong side of 30.<\/p>\n No more Leinster bias<\/p>\n Farrell<\/a>, who has been accused of Leinster<\/a> bias, has kept faith with his ageing stars, but Jackman predicts that the upcoming Six Nations will mark a change in Ireland\u2019s thinking.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s probably more relevant than it has been under Farrell\u2019s reign because the Irish team look like they need new blood or an injection of energy, or something a little bit different,\u201d he told the RTE Rugby<\/a> podcast.<\/p>\n \u201cNovember wasn\u2019t brilliant, the Six Nations last year wasn\u2019t brilliant. It wasn\u2019t catastrophic, but there is a sense that Farrell will be more ruthless in terms of his squad selection than he has ever been.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s been so loyal. He\u2019s been loyal to players that have performed for him but over the last 12 months there are question marks around whether it needs something different.<\/p>\n \u201cThe performances that fringe Irish-qualified players have put in over Christmas against their peers has to be worth more now than it ever was.\u201d<\/p>\n Bernard Jackman: Why \u2018concerning\u2019 Leinster issue will leave Andy Farrell \u2018worried\u2019<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n Munster tended to dominate Irish rugby alongside Leinster, but Ulster appear to be the coming force and hammered the Thomond Park outfit 28-3 in their United Rugby Championship clash last weekend.<\/p>\n They have won six of their eight league matches this season and have a game in hand over second-place Glasgow Warriors, with a number of individuals impressing in 2025\/26.<\/p>\n \u201cNathan Doak is much improved and playing with a confidence, but also able to play at a faster pace than maybe I thought suited him,\u201d Jackman added.<\/p>\n \u201cStockdale is back in form and then Tom Stewart, so that\u2019s a sign of a really good coaching group and a really good environment where players are playing their best rugby.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Bryn Ward\u2019s are shiny new toys and they\u2019re great, you need lots of them. Zac Ward has a big sevens profile and is newish to XVs to a certain extent, although he\u2019s a little bit older.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s the lads who you\u2019ve watched consistently over the last three or four years, who are very good players but have just found another 10 per cent.\u201d<\/p>\n Which Ulster players make the Six Nations?<\/p>\n The big question is whether that form will be rewarded, especially when Farrell has constantly looked towards Leinster, but Jackman believes those players will make the Six Nations squad.<\/p>\n \u201cNathan Doak is surely in the top three Irish scrum-halves, so he gets in there, he gets better for that experience,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n \u201cStockdale gets back in the Irish starting line-up. If Hugo Keenan comes back, probably not at full-back but maybe on the wing.<\/p>\n \u201cTom Stewart has to be looking at getting back in the Irish squad maybe ahead of Gus McCarthy, who\u2019s not getting much game time.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you add Izzy (Cormac Izuchukwu), (Iain) Henderson, (Jude) Postlethwaite, suddenly Ulster could maybe have eight, nine, 10 players in an Irish squad.\u201d<\/p>\n Want more from Planet Rugby? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list<\/a> for world-class coverage you can trust.<\/p>\n