Ulster back-row forward James McNabney has been called up to Andy Farrell's 36-man Ireland squad for the upcoming Nations Championship home Tests against Argentina, Fiji and South Africa. The 23-year-old, who stands 6ft 5ins, is one of nine Ulster players selected and is targeting his first senior international cap after missing last year's summer Tests due to a serious knee injury.
Injury comeback
McNabney suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury that ruled him out of the entire 2025-26 season. He has recently returned to action, making appearances off the bench in Ulster's last three United Rugby Championship fixtures after starting the season opener against Edinburgh. On Saturday he replaced Juarno Augustus in the 64th minute of Ulster's 34-26 loss to the Bulls in Pretoria, a match played at altitude that he believes will benefit his preparation for the Ireland camp. "It's a good test at altitude, temperature, the massive humans we were up against," McNabney said. "It was good. I would like more minutes. I only got 20 minutes at the end but you've just got to take what you're given and try to raise it."
Squad composition
Alongside McNabney, fellow uncapped player Jamie Benson joins seven capped Ulster teammates in the Ireland camp: Tom O'Toole, Tom Stewart, Nick Timoney, Nathan Doak, Stuart McCloskey, Jacob Stockdale and Robert Baloucoune. McNabney was previously a development player in Ireland's 2025 Six Nations squad and helped the Ireland under-20s win a Grand Slam in 2022. Ireland head coach Andy Farrell described McNabney as "some specimen of a man" when announcing the squad. McNabney added: "Yeah, I've been in camp before, I really enjoyed it. Hopefully my experience is the same and look to push on and get as much exposure and show the coaches what I'm all about."
Ulster's upcoming fixture
With their internationals away, Ulster face the Stormers in Cape Town on Saturday at 12:45 GMT. Richie Murphy's side are still seeking their first URC win of the season after two defeats and two draws, but reported no fresh injury concerns. Additional players Tom Brigg, Sam Crean, Jed Findlay, Rob Herring, James Hume, Martin Moloney and Zac Ward have joined the squad in Cape Town.
