Ulster back row James McNabney's path to the Ireland set-up has been far from traditional. Growing up on a farm in Ballymena, he showed little interest in rugby as a child and only began playing at school. Horses were his main focus, and he rode competitively from around the age of six until 16, representing Northern Ireland and Great Britain's equestrian teams.
At 16, he faced a choice between rugby and riding. Michael Black, a provincial talent coach at Ulster, told him he needed to decide whether to put on a bit of timber and play rugby or stay lean and ride a horse. McNabney chose rugby. He now rides only for fun, and says he has not been on a horse in about six months. He also admits he was not a keen follower of the game growing up, but it was not until he reached the Ireland Under-20s that he decided rugby would be his career.
McNabney won Under-20 Six Nations Grand Slams in 2022 and 2023. His senior Ireland chance came more than a year later than he had hoped. After an impressive season with Ulster, he was named in Andy Farrell's training panel for the 2025 Six Nations. However, he sustained an ACL injury before the summer fixtures against Japan and Georgia and missed a year on the sidelines. He returned to action for Ulster in pre-season this summer, and Farrell has included him in the Ireland panel again. At 6ft 5in and almost 19 stone, Farrell described him as "some specimen of a man."
McNabney called the ACL injury the worst a player can suffer and said he had learned to take recovery one day at a time. Now he could make his Ireland debut in November's Nations Championship matches against Argentina, Fiji or South Africa, or at the finals weekend in London. He says he is "delighted" to have the chance, though he does not expect to earn a cap. His goal for the camp is to "learn as much as possible and hopefully earn my first cap."
Source: BBC Sport · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing