It’s a huge blow for a player who had a spectacular debut Six Nations campaign, scoring three tries in four games
2026 Guinness Six Nations Championship Round 5, Aviva Stadium, Dublin 14/3/2026
Ireland vs Scotland
Ireland’s Jamie Osborne, Tommy O’Brien and Robert Baloucoune celebrate with the Triple Crown trophy (Image: ©INPHO)
Robert Baloucoune will miss the next three months following picking up an elbow injury in Ireland’s victory over Scotland last Saturday.
The damage requires surgery and will see him sidelined for, approximately, the next three months.
This will leave Ulster planning for their European Challenge Cup Last 16 game against Ospreys (Apr 4th) and a prospective home quarter-final to Newcastle or La Rochelle (Apr 10/11/12) without him. The Challenge Cup final is May 23rd.
Domestically, the last of the URC leagues rounds is May 18th with a significant gap to the knockouts which is clearly where Richie Murphy will be hoping he can slot his man back in.
The URC quarter-finals are scheduled for May 29/30/31, the semi-finals for June 5/6/7 and the Grand Final for Saturday June 20th.
It’s a particular blow for a player who had a spectacular debut Six Nations campaign, scoring three tries in four games, picking up the Six Nations Rising Star award alongside winning a Triple Crown.
“It’s been an unbelievable experience,” said Baloucoune of the international campaign. “It’s something I wouldn’t have expected and I’m just grateful to actually getting here.
Robert Baloucoune (Image: ©INPHO/Ben Brady)
“I’ve been in before where I haven’t played and done that so, yeah, I’ve been able to finish it off with a trophy and being part of the group has been really special.
“The group’s been massive. It feels like a once-in-a-lifetime kind of experience for me because I wasn’t expecting it when I came in and to finish it off like that, it’s been class.
“The award was a bit of a shock, to be honest – 28 years-of-age and getting the Rising Star,” he says good naturedly clutching the big silver trophy nonetheless.
“I’m getting slagged for it already, so I’m sure I’ll get slagged by a lot more people, but I’m grateful for it and at least people are seeing what I’ve put out there.”
But then life’s full of surprises for the Enniskillen-born star, doubling his Ireland caps from four to eight, a Six nations debut, a Triple Crown and a Rising Star award.”