At 6ft 5in and nearly 19 stone, James McNabney has always looked like an Ireland rugby player. Now, after a route into the game that is anything but traditional, the 23-year-old Ulster back row has finally earned his first senior call-up from Andy Farrell — and could make his Ireland debut in November’s Nations Championship fixtures against Argentina, Fiji and South Africa.
The moment itself was pure comedy: McNabney was in South Africa with Ulster, had no eSIM, and was hunting for cafe WiFi when the email arrived. His dad’s reaction? A light-hearted shrug, though both parents, he says, are delighted.
From Horse Riding to the Ireland Squad
McNabney grew up on a farm in Ballymena and barely watched rugby as a kid — horses were his world. He rode from age six to 16 and represented both Northern Ireland and Great Britain’s equestrian teams before an Ulster talent coach gave him an ultimatum: put on timber for rugby or stay lean for riding. He chose rugby, and admits he was quite green because he had never studied the game.
By the Ireland Under-20s he knew it was his career, winning Under-20 Six Nations Grand Slams in 2022 and 2023. But the step up kept slipping away: he was a 2025 Six Nations training panellist, was set to tour Japan and Georgia with the summer squad while the Lions were away, and then suffered an ACL injury that cost him a full year.
Farrell’s Faith — and What Comes Next
Farrell has recalled McNabney at the first opportunity, a clear sign of how highly the coaching group rates him. The head coach has already called him “some specimen of a man,” and McNabney says he wants to show the Ireland coaches what he is all about.
“I tried to set a goalpost of where I wanted to be… I learned to just take it a day at a time,” he said of the long rehab. Now the farmer’s son from Ballymena gets his shot — and Ireland’s pack could have a new force.
James McNabney (Credits: BBC Sport)
Also Read: Ulster Trio Robert Baloucoune, James McNabney and Joe Hopes Sign Contract Extensions Until 2029
Source: BBC Sport — read the full story there.
