{"id":417552,"date":"2026-01-16T19:48:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T19:48:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/417552\/"},"modified":"2026-01-16T19:48:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T19:48:11","slug":"byrne-at-10-stockdale-at-15-how-irelands-backline-might-look-for-six-nations-opener","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/417552\/","title":{"rendered":"Byrne at 10? Stockdale at 15? How Ireland’s backline might look for Six Nations opener"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Two weeks out from the start of another Six Nations<\/a> campaign and we have another player-turned-pundit in our ranks. Former Munster, Ireland<\/a> and Lions<\/a> scrum-half Conor Murray<\/a> is sitting in the Virgin Media studios, in Dublin, decked out in a grey suit and getting a test run before the camera lights go red, on 5 February, and he is broadcast to the nation.<\/p>\n

Murray is the latest addition to the Virgin Media team for what will be their eighth championship as broadcaster. He sits alongside former Ireland team-mates, Rob Kearney<\/a> and Andrew Trimble<\/a>, with a small but enthusiastic studio audience listening closely. Host Joe Molloy veers from anything resembling an easy start for Murray.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want you to nail your colours to the mast,\u201d Molloy cajoles. \u201cYou\u2019ve trained and played with Sam Prendergast<\/a>, you\u2019ve played with Jack Crowley. Harry Byrne<\/a> is coming to the fore, now. Who do you see as the likely starting No.10 for the next four or five years, and why? Not who do you think Andy Farrell would pick. Who would you pick?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"SamSam Prendergast<\/a> started Ireland\u2019s final November Test against South Africa<\/a> but faces fierce competition for his place (Photo Brendan Moran\/Sportsfile via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Murray, wisely, avoids making any long-term predictions and settles, instead, on the upcoming championship. \u201cFrom being in the room, and the environment,\u201d he answers, \u201cI think Andy prefers Sam. You could see how well Jack started the season, especially in that Croke Park game (Munster<\/a> beat Leinster) when everyone seemed to flip and say, \u2018Jack is the man\u2019. When November came around \u2013 and you\u2019ve got to trust Andy as he knows what he is doing \u2013 he still went with Sam, for the Australia<\/a> and South Africa games.<\/p>\n

Sam has these great skills and can produce magic but the way he sees the game is, in my opinion, the closest to the way Andy sees it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt may just be a feeling Andy has \u2013 maybe the team clicks a bit better with Sam in there. At the moment, I do agree with that. We would always have a meeting on a Monday with Andy, all the 9s and 10s. We\u2019d chat about the game that just went, and how the upcoming week will go. Being in that room, the way Sam talks, you can tell that he really does understand the game. He has these great skills and can produce magic but the way he sees the game is, in my opinion, the closest to the way Andy sees it.\u201d<\/p>\n

When it comes back to who he would start as fly-half in Ireland\u2019s Six Nations opener against France, Murray talks around the qualities of Prendergast and Crowley. \u201cYou didn\u2019t answer the question,\u201d Molloy playfully chides. \u201cIs that not the whole point?\u201d Murray remarks. \u201cI said Sam.\u201d<\/p>\n

Interestingly, Kearney and Trimble opt for Harry Byrne<\/a>, who last played for Ireland in March 2024 and has never started for his country. \u201cI remember being in this room, 12 months ago,\u201d Kearney reflects, \u201ctalking about Sam and Jack, and saying we\u2019ll be talking about their rivalry for the next five, 10 years. Now, a year later, it looks like neither of them may be in the 10 jersey for that opening game.\u201d<\/p>\n

The case for Byrne has been massively strengthened since he stepped up to nail a last-minute penalty in Leinster\u2019s thrilling Champions Cup pool stage victory over La Rochelle.<\/p>\n

\"HarryHarry Byrne landed the winning penalty for Leinster<\/a> against La Rochelle but has not played for Ireland since the 2024 Six Nations (Photo Seb Daly\/Sportsfile via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

The panel chat wraps up, 30 minutes later, and none of the pundits are backing Ireland to win the Six Nations. The consensus \u2013 although the trio hope to be proved wrong \u2013 is that Ireland will win their three home games, but lose on away trips to Paris and London.<\/p>\n

Shortly after, Trimble gingerly walks in my direction and takes a seat. He injured his ankle in a rare foray back onto the rugby field, last month, and is still at the hobbling stage. When I was putting my book, The New Breed, together, back in 2014, I spoke with Trimble for a chapter and was struck by his insights, honesty and sense of perspective, on rugby. Years later, we worked together on a podcast and my admiration for him strengthened. We catch up on life, and family, before I set him a challenge: \u2018Name me the Ireland backline you would start against France\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cJamison Gibson-Park at scrum-half,\u201d Trimble begins. \u201cAt 10, I\u2019m going to go Harry Byrne. It would be nice to find out, and a tough place to try and find out, for him. Based on his behaviour last weekend \u2013 \u2018Give me the ball, I\u2019ve got this\u2019 \u2013 that is the mindset you need to go and win in Paris.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tommy O\u2019Brien is the first name on my team-sheet. I think he is outrageous. Unbelievable. He\u2019s got everything.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere will be one or two changes,\u201d the former Ulster<\/a> and Ireland winger adds. \u201cIf Farrell goes with Harry and with the prop (fitness) situation, you may have two or three changes already. So Andy may then tone down what he might have done elsewhere. You can\u2019t have too many changes. You need experience going to Paris. It\u2019s good to have that spark and enthusiasm of youth, but you\u2019ve got to have experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the left wing, James Lowe. Maybe. If Hugo Keenan<\/a> had been fit or Mack Hansen<\/a> was fit to play 15, you could have gone with Jacob Stockdale<\/a> on the left. But I think Jacob might play 15, so Lowe on the left. There is a bit of competition there from Zac Ward<\/a> and Joshua Kenny. I\u2019m inclined to think they are not quite ready and Lowe, whenever he is under pressure, often produces a big one. Right now, he is under pressure.<\/p>\n

\u201cTommy O\u2019Brien on the right wing. Tommy is the first name on my team-sheet. I think he is outrageous. Unbelievable. He\u2019s got everything. I would then have Jacob at full-back. I don\u2019t think Hugo is back and ready, yet, Mack is injured and Jamie Osborne<\/a> is unavailable. Jimmy O\u2019Brien is the only other potential at 15.<\/p>\n

\"TommyTommy O\u2019Brien<\/a> started all four of Ireland\u2019s November Tests and has scored five tries in his first six Tests (Photo David Fitzgerald\/Sportsfile via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

\u201cJacob has big moments in him. He just needs to maintain the same levels and show that consistency. International rugby needs that reliability and consistency, and he\u2019s going in that direction. Farrell has kept Jacob in the environment for a long time, even when he wasn\u2019t really flying. That, to me, says he likes the ceiling Jacob can get to.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor my centres, I\u2019m going Stuart McCloskey<\/a> and Garry Ringrose. McCloskey is the best centre in Ireland, at the minute, and there\u2019s something very unique about what Ringrose offers. With Stu, there is a calmness to him. Maybe, as you get older, you accept things a little better and are less anxious about things. He has never looked panicky on the ball but he looks calmer than ever. He just surges through contact, effortlessly, and keeps pumping his legs, waits for an opportunity. There is so much creativity to his offload game. That is his point of difference from loads of centres out there, particularly Irish centres.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trimble\u2019s backline to start against France:<\/p>\n

Jamison Gibson-Park, 10. Harry Byrne, 11. James Lowe<\/a>, 12. Stuart McCloskey<\/a>, 13. Garry Ringrose<\/a>, 14. Tommy O\u2019Brien, 15. Jacob Stockdale<\/p>\n

Trimble\u2019s greatest Six Nations moment arrived in Paris, back in March 2014, in what was Joe Schmidt\u2019s first Championship title as Ireland head coach \u2013 the first of three in five years \u2013 and Brian O\u2019Driscoll\u2019s final Test match.<\/p>\n

\"AndrewTrimble scored a try in Ireland\u2019s title-clinching victory, one of three wins on their last six trips to France (Photo Matt Browne\/Corbis\/Sportsfile via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

\u201cFrance<\/a> were going through a difficult period back then, but they really turned it on that day,\u201d Trimble recalls of Ireland\u2019s 22-20 victory, in which he scored their second of three tries to help seal the title on points difference ahead of England.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had to play really, really well to beat them. Getting a try in that game was great, but that was the first Championship win I was really involved in. What made it extra special was that we were able to send Drico off with a win, and another title.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Two weeks out from the start of another Six Nations campaign and we have another player-turned-pundit in our…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":417553,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[64,63,760,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-417552","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-rugby","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-rugby","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/417552","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=417552"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/417552\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/417553"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=417552"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=417552"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=417552"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}