Ireland Rugby

Nick Timoney will make his first Six Nations start, while scrum-half Nathan Doak is named on the bench and will make his Ireland debut.

Full team incoming...

We're expecting the Ireland team to drop at any moment, so stay tuned...

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Talent was never in question, but Six Nations appearances eluded Nick Timoney until this year and while the 30-year-old is yet to start for Ireland in the competition, the back row insists he is "not worrying too much about what number I've got on my back".

The Ulster back row made his debut against the USA in 2021 but by the start of 2025, had made just four further appearances with two of those against the Maori All Blacks.

However, perseverance has started to pay off as after featuring against Georgia, Japan and Australia last year, Timoney has been introduced as a replacement in each of the three games in the 2026 Six Nations, crossing for a try in the opening defeat by France.

While the Dublin native would prefer to start when Ireland host Wales on Friday, he is happy to play his part and if that is best served off the bench, then so be it.

"Obviously I haven't played in the Six Nations before this season and it's something I've always dreamed of so obviously from that point of view just feeling very grateful to be given the opportunities," he told reporters this week.

"Everyone wants to start and I'd love to start as well, a lot of people say to me, friends and family, have said to me, 'you've been going well of the bench, when are you going to start', obviously I'd love to start but I still feel like I'm playing a game.

"If you come on for 30 minutes at Twickenham, you could argue the game wasn't necessarily in the balance at that stage but it's a pretty important part of things.

"I've always tried to not worry too much about selection, but the fact that the coaches are backing me to be in the squad and come on, and I'm getting to do what I've always dreamed of doing, I'm not worrying too much about what number I've got on my back."

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Bundee Aki has returned to the Ireland squad for Friday's Six Nations game against Wales in Dublin, while Leinster pair Jimmy O'Brien and Robbie Henshaw are also back in contention.

Aki was handed a four-match ban in January for "verbal abuse and disrespect" towards match officials in Connacht's United Rugby Championship (URC) loss to Leinster in January.

That kept the 35-year-old out of his province's URC game against Leinster and Ireland's first three games in the Six Nations, but is now back with the squad.

O'Brien has also linked up with the squad and Henshaw is expected to return early this week after they both played the full 80 minutes in Leinster's 8-7 URC defeat by Cardiff on Friday.

Both were left out of Andy Farrell's initial 37-man squad for the Six Nations because of injury, but their return will bolster Ireland's options with James Lowe ruled out for the remainder of the tournament with a groin injury.

Fly-half Harry Byrne suffered a concussion in Leinster's defeat on Friday and is out, while Cormac Izuchukwu continues his graduated return to play protocols and will join the squad alongside the other nine players who have also returned to camp.

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Wing James Lowe has been ruled out of Ireland's two remaining Six Nations matches with a groin injury.

Lowe, was replaced by Tommy O'Brien just 20 minutes into Ireland's stunning 42-21 victory against England at Allianz Stadium.

Before the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) confirmed the news on Thursday, Ireland defence coach Simon Easterby admitted the 33-year-old Leinster player was "struggling".

"I think he's due to see someone today, a specialist," Easterby said after Ireland's open training session in front of nearly 5,000 fans at Aviva Stadium.

"I would have thought they'd make a call on it over the next few days, but you could see when he tried to take off that he did something nasty.

"Lowey's pretty tough. He was getting up and down on the sideline when things were going well for us and he was part of the cheerleading group on the sideline.

The Six Nations trophy is to be "retired from ceremonial use" and replaced after being damaged by fire in an accident during transit.

The trophy was damaged after round three of the tournament, when the vehicle carrying it was involved in an incident, according to a statement, external, external on the Six Nations website.

The winner of this year's Six Nations will lift an exhibition replica before a new trophy will be commissioned ahead of the 2027 championship.

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We've been speaking about it for long enough now so you should ALL have heard of our podcast with Irish legend Conor Murray and BBC Sport NI's Gavin Andrews...

But in case you haven't, you can find all of the episodes on BBC Sounds and YouTube.

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Here's a look at how things stand ahead of the penultimate round of matches.

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The story so far...

Two more chapters to be written.

Who do you want to see start in green on Friday night?

Should Jacob Stockdale replace the injured James Lowe or did Tommy O'Brien do enough to earn a start after his cameo against England?

Have your say on team selection and give us your thoughts on the Wales game using our 'Get Involved' button at the top of this page.

Hello and welcome to our live page as we build up to Ireland's team announcement for Friday night's big Six Nations game against Wales in Dublin.

The team will be announced at 14:00 GMT and Andy Farrell is due to speak to the media at 16:00 GMT so we will keep you covered with any changes made and what he says.

After an opening day defeat to France, Ireland have recovered well with a hard-fought victory over Italy followed by a resounding, history-making win at Twickenham last time out.

The players have had a rest week to prepare for this one... so no better excuse than to have a little rewind to that win in south-west London two weeks ago.

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