They have huge potential!
During the Summer Tour to Georgia and Portugal, Ireland capped nine new players under the watchful eye of stand-in head coach Paul O’Connell.
Such an influx of new blood will make it hard for others to break in during the next batch of games in the Autumn Nations Series, as those who performed well in July will need to be levelled up with further game time.
It is highly unlikely that a new face will be seen against either the All Blacks, Springboks, or the Wallabies, but the game against Japan on November 8 offers a chance for an early-season ‘bolter’ to stake a claim.
Here are four players who could realistically play a part.
Edwin Edogbo
The fact that the Munster lock is still only 22, despite not playing for his province’s first team since 2023, shows the enormity of what he was doing on the pitch, two and three seasons ago.
At 20 he was physically dominant against grown men, and looked primed for Ireland duty in the near future.
Injuries curtailed his hopes but he returned for Munster ‘A’ back in May, and will be in contention for international caps if he can stay fit.
He is the type of player who Ireland do not produce regularly, if ever, and should be fast tracked for the next World Cup.
Zac Ward
This pick is based more on the ceiling of the former sevens star, rather than a need to blood a new winger.
Last season was his first with Ulster, after starring at the 2024 Paris Olympics, and towards the tail end of their campaign he began to show why there is a strong argument that he has the most potential of any Irish wing.
His athletic attributes made him a stand-out in the shorter format of the game, and while he is 26, he is young in terms of his years playing professionally at 15s.
Ulster’s brave last-16 loss to Bordeaux in the Champions Cup showed that he also has the skills to match his size and speed, in a performance deserving a special highlight reel from his club.
With Tommy O’Brien and Shayne Bolton, who both made impressive debuts in the summer, chomping at the bit for more game time, Ward will have to reach another level again in order to have a shot at making the next Ireland squad.
However, given the form and injury issues of Robert Baloucoune he looks primed to be handed Ulster’s starting 14 jersey.
Matthew Devine
This is another selection based on ceiling, with the Connacht scrum-half proving last season for his province and Emerging Ireland that he is a genuine game breaker.
Jamison Gibson-Park and Craig Casey are comfortably ahead of the rest of the competition, but third-choice is not as clear.
Connacht’s Ben Murphy was picked ahead of Nathan Doak during the summer, but if Devine can put club pressure on his teammate, with an injury thrown in as well, then a debut in a few months could be on the cards for the 23-year-old.
Brian Gleeson
Given his exploits at U20s level, when he was Ireland’s best player on their run to the final of the World U20s Championship, he would have been expected to be further up the pecking order, especially in the eyes of greedy fans.
He hasn’t quite broken into Munster’s first-choice 23, but once he shows that he can consistently impose himself physically in the same way he did at underage, then it will be tough to leave him out of the match-day squad.
Should this happen early into the season, he will be a serious contender for November.
Farrell and Co have yet to put too much trust into players outside the main four, and it is clear that they do not see the likes of Gavin Coombes, Nick Timoney, or Cian Prendergast as serious options.
Thus, there is opportunity to move quickly up the pecking order, and after being called up to train with Ireland during the summer, Gleeson is already under consideration.
