If there was an Irish theme to a vintage 2026 Six Nations campaign, it is probably the emergence of new players in their mid- to late 20s, or even 30s, and especially with an Ulster tinge. Perhaps it’s fitting therefore that Robert Baloucoune was formally named the tournament’s Rising Player at the age of 28.

But the irony wasn’t lost on him. “Yeah, the award was a bit of a shock, to be honest; 28 and getting the rising star – I’m getting slagged for it already. But I’m grateful for it and at least people are seeing what I’ve put out there.”

Baloucoune had not added to his fourth cap against Fiji in November 2022. Whereupon he has made four successive appearances in his debut Six Nations, scoring three tries and winning a Triple Crown.

Such days have appeared a long way off, and among the several turning points in his career were being offered a place in the Irish Sevens squad by James Topping and also in the Ulster academy after coming through Enniskillen Royal Grammar School and Enniskillen RFC, where he coaches the backs part-time on a voluntary basis.

“I was meant to go to ‘Uni’ in England and that would have probably been the end of my rugby. I was in between London and Nottingham. It was a bit of a change. Sports management or something, just to go to Uni.”

The Sevens segue was an invaluable staging post. There have since been stumbling blocks along the way, notably hamstring issues, but he’s always possessed rare finishing ability, strong defence and aerial prowess.

His try in the 43-21 win over Scotland had echoes of his brilliant finish against Italy. That came from Stuart McCloskey’s quarterback-style pass, whereas his finish from longer range last Saturday came from his Ulster team-mate’s long bridge pass – akin to the scrum move which led to a try at Twickenham.

“We talked about it all week, trying to get the ball into space and taking on defenders. Stu’s done it before as well where he’s took that big long pass, so I knew that was coming, and trying to beat defenders, to get to the tryline, it’s what I’m good at, and what I try to do.”

In this, Baloucoune is given every encouragement to back himself.

[ Robert Baloucoune: Who is Ireland’s ‘find’ of the Six Nations?Opens in new window ]

“Yeah, everyone, Goody [Andrew Goodman], Johnny [Sexton], they’re like, ‘Get the ball in space, try and make things happen,’ and I think you’ve seen that over the course of the championship.

As evidenced by his cool try assist for Tommy O’Brien at Twickenham, and partly due to the attacking rugby being played at Ulster under Richie Murphy and Mark Sexton, Baloucoune is also working across the backline harder than he used to do.

“Yeah, definitely, and I think that’s a confidence thing as well. The more you do it, the better you are at it, and I have to keep doing it in training and forcing myself off the wing. It was something that I wasn’t comfortable with when I was younger and playing. I suppose you keep on learning and try to improve every day.”

Indeed, it’s never too late.