Andy Farrell today announced the Ireland squad he would be taking with him to the 2024 Guinness Six Nations Championship, with Peter O'Mahony named captain for the first campaign of the post-Johnny Sexton era.
O'Mahony stepped down from the Munster captaincy in the aftermath of the World Cup, with some speculation that retirement was imminent for the 35-year-old. Others suggested the veteran back row may have been preparing himself to focus fully on the Ireland captain role - and that has now come to fruition. O'Mahony will earn his 102nd cap for his country as captain in Ireland's opening game.
Farrell named a strong 34-man squad as he prepares for his next chapter with Ireland after coming up short in the 2023 Rugby World Cup and losing captain and talisman Johnny Sexton to retirement.
Despite losing a few major contributors to retirement and injury in the buildup to the tournament, Farrell has revealed a balanced squad that is full of both youth and experience. Stalwarts such as Conor Murray, Bundee Aki, Robbie Henshaw, Iain Henderson, and Tadhg Furlong all return.
Meanwhile, three uncapped players - Munster duo Oli Jager and Tom Ahern, and Leinster's Sam Prendergast - are named as "training panellists."
READ HERE: Bernard Jackman Tears Into Stade Francais For 'Shortchanging' Fans At Aviva Stadium
READ HERE: Predicting The 14 Ireland Players To Make The 2025 Lions Tour
The two main question marks which loomed over this Six Nations squad announcement were who would replace Johnny Sexton, both as Ireland captain and as fly-half. Having answered the first question on Wednesday, Andy Farrell will now have to choose between Munster's Jack Crowley and Leinster duo Ciaran Frawley and Harry Byrne. Byrne's brother Ross has missed significant game time this year through injury.
Ireland opens their 2024 Six Nations campaign against France in Marseille on Friday, February 2nd, where they will hope to get off to a winning start as they attempt to defend both the Six Nations and Grand Slam titles they won last year.
Farrell and his side will then travel home to Ireland for their next two games, where they will host Italy and Wales in the Aviva Stadium, before travelling across the Irish Sea to face familiar foes England at Twickenham.
Ireland will finish off their Six Nations campaign with a home game against Scotland at the Aviva, on March 16th.
Ireland Squad - 2024 Six Nations
Here is the full 2024 Ireland Six Nations Squad.
Forwards (19):
- Tadhg Furlong (Leinster)
- Finlay Bealham (Connacht)
- Tom O'Toole (Ulster)
- Ronan Kelleher (Leinster)
- Dan Sheehan (Leinster)
- Tom Stewart (Ulster)
- Andrew Porter (Leinster)
- Jeremy Loughman (Munster)
- Cian Healy (Leinster)
- Iain Henderson (Ulster)
- Tadhg Beirne (Munster)
- Joe McCarthy (Leinster)
- James Ryan (Leinster)
- Peter O'Mahony (Munster - captain)
- Josh van der Flier (Leinster)
- Caelan Doris (Leinster)
- Jack Conan (Leinster)
- Nick Timoney (Ulster)
- Ryan Baird (Leinster)
Backs (15):
- Jamison Gibson-Park (Leinster)
- Craig Casey (Munster)
- Conor Murray (Munster)
- Jack Crowley (Munster)
- Harry Byrne (Leinster)
- Ciaran Frawley (Leinster)
- Robbie Henshaw (Leinster)
- Bundee Aki (Connacht)
- Garry Ringrose (Leinster)
- Stuart McCloskey (Ulster)
- Hugo Keenan (Leinster)
- Jacob Stockdale (Ulster)
- James Lowe (Leinster)
- Calvin Nash (Munster)
- Jordan Larmour (Leinster)
Training panellists:
- Oli Jager (Munster)
- Thomas Ahern (Munster)
- Sam Prendergast (Leinster)
Ireland Six Nations 2024 Fixtures
| Teams | Venue | Date | Kick-off Time |
| France v Ireland | Orange Vélodrome, Marseille | Friday, February 2nd | 8 pm |
| Ireland v Italy | Aviva Stadium, Dublin | Sunday, February 11th | 3 pm |
| Ireland v Wales | Aviva Stadium, Dublin | Saturday, February 24th | 2:15 pm |
| England v Ireland | Twickenham Stadium, London | Saturday, March 9th | 4:45 pm |
| Ireland v Scotland | Aviva Stadium, Dublin | Saturday, March 16th | 4:45 pm |
SEE ALSO: Wales Star Makes Shock Decision To Quit Rugby & Pursue NFL Dream
