Irish Rugby

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Ulster have handed starts to five of their summer signings for Friday's United Rugby Championship opener against Edinburgh at the Affidea Stadium (19:45 BST).

They form part of a total of eight players in the matchday squad who are set to make their competitive debuts for the Irish province.

New forward additions Eduardo Bello, Eli Snyman, Ben Donnell and Martin Moloney are named in the starting team, with another new recruit, Jamie Benson, chosen among the backs.

Ireland wing Robert Baloucoune is back in the starting line-up, while last season's top try-scorer Zac Ward is among the replacements, both players having been involved in Ireland camp over the summer.

Full-back Michael Lowry is named as captain.

After missing all of last season because of a knee injury, James McNabney makes his competitive return, starting at number eight.

Argentine debutant Bello joins Eric O'Sullivan and James McCormick in the front row, with Snyman and Donnell forming the second row.

In the back row, there is a debut for former Exeter Chiefs forward Moloney at open-side flanker, with McCann starting at blind-side.

Conor McKee and Jack Murphy make up the half-back combination, while ex-Harlequins back Benson and Ben Carson team up in midfield.

Baloucoune is selected on the right wing and Development back Aitzol Arenzana-King on the left.

Arenzana-King crossed for four tries in Ulster's pre-season games against Edinburgh and Ospreys.

Development hooker Henry Walker, prop Keynan Knox and scrum-half Matthew Devine are named in a youthful bench.

Forwards Walker, Tom McAllister, Knox, Harry Sheridan and James McKillop, and backs Devine, Jake Flannery and Zac Ward are chosen as replacements.

Ulster: Lowry (capt), Baloucoune, Carson, Benson, Arenzana-King, Murphy, McKee, O'Sullivan, McCormick, Bello, Snyman, Donnell, McCann, Moloney, McNabney.

Replacements: Walker, McAllister, Knox, Sheridan, McKillop, Devine, Flannery, Z Ward

David Mohan
BBC Sport NI journalist

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La Rochelle head coach Ronan O'Gara has signed a contract extension to keep him at the club until 2031.

O'Gara arrived at the club in 2019 after coaching spells with rival Top 14 side Racing 92 and New Zealand outfit Crusaders.

Following defeat in the 2021 European Champions Cup final, the former Ireland international signed an initial extension before guiding La Rochelle to back-to-back final wins in 2022 and 2023 - the club's first major silverware.

"My family and I are very happy and proud to continue this adventure with Stade Rochelais," O'Gara told the club website.

"We have lived through exceptional times and gone through more difficult times together. In each of them, I felt the confidence of the club and the support of our supporters.

"I believe deeply in this club, in its players, in its staff and in its ambition. We have already built a lot of things, but I am convinced that the best is still ahead of us.

"I want to continue to grow this team and win with Stade Rochelais."

La Rochelle have made a winning start to the new Top 14 season, defeating Toulouse on the opening weekend before a 21-20 away win in Toulon on Saturday.

They return to action this Saturday against Racing 92.

Last season, La Rochelle finished sixth in the Top 14 to secure a return to the Investec Champions Cup before bowing out of their domestic play-offs at the quarter-final stage at the hands of Stade Francais.

In Europe, they dropped into the Challenge Cup where they were eliminated by Ulster in the quarter-finals.

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Ireland wing Anna McGann said her side are aiming to take the "massive opportunity" presented by the WXV series and want to come away with five victories.

Scott Bemand's side will face US in Tallaght Stadium on 20 September and then Japan on 27 September and 3 October at the Dexcom Stadium in Galway and Virgin Media Park in Cork before travelling for two games against South Africa in late October.

McGann, who impressed in the Women's Interprovincial series for Connacht, believes those WXV fixtures can help Ireland's continued development as they look to establish themselves as one of the top sides in the women's game.

"It's such a massive opportunity to get five games at this time of year against some top tier nations. It's really exciting and we're taking the opportunity and running with it," she told BBC Sport NI's Nicola McCarthy.

"It's such a huge opportunity to build off the back of the Six Nations and I feel we have been building since the World Cup, we've come back into camp at a higher level than we left camp so it's a huge opportunity for us to grow and build as a team and build our depth.

"We're still gutted from the World Cup that we couldn't make it to the top four because we believed we could be in the top four and be one of the best in the world. We're still developing and what's to come is really exciting."

While McGann acknowledges that the three sides they will face will all pose different threats than the teams Ireland usually face in the Six Nations, she believes they can still come away with positive results in all five games.

"We're going into the competition really confident we can come out with five wins and that comes down to the performances we put out on the pitch so it's been performance focused in training the last couple of weeks and the coaches have really been pushing us and we're ready for it."

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New Ulster signing Ben Donnell said a motivating factor in his move to the province was the chance to force his way into the Ireland set-up and play international rugby.

The 26-year-old is Irish-qualified through his Belfast-born father and as well as the chance to discover where his father grew up, he is aiming to catch Ireland head coach Andy Farrell's eye at his new club.

"My dad being from here, I wanted to see what Belfast was like and what it was like for him growing up here, but also I'm Irish-qualified and it gives me the chance to play international rugby," he told BBC Sport NI's Nicola McCarthy.

"At Cardiff I wasn't Welsh-qualified so no matter how well I played I couldn't play international rugby there, so that is what attracted me.

"The club as well, I played here before the 3G pitch was in and it was packed and the atmosphere was amazing so that was another exciting thing that drew me in."

Donnell represented England at U18 and U20 level and had spells at London Irish and Gloucester Rugby, before joining Cardiff in 2023.

He was a regular feature in the United Rugby Championship with the Welsh side, who finished sixth last year, three places ahead of Ulster.

Donnell added that Richie Murphy's side must aim to return to the top eight in the URC this season and try to atone for their Challenge Cup final defeat against Montpellier.

"Top eight is the target as it always is. You want to play finals rugby and when you get top eight you never know what can happen," he added.

"They narrowly missed out last year and it would be good to go one better in Challenge Cup too."

Richard Petrie
BBC Sport NI Journalist

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Ireland scrum-half Aoibheann Reilly says she is "grateful" to be back in Scott Bemand's squad as she aims to put her injury woes behind her and play a significant part in the forthcoming WXV series.

The Irish number nine missed this year's Women's Six Nations tournament after breaking her fibula and has also battled back from ACL injuries to her left and right legs which she suffered in the space of nine months.

She is part of the Ireland squad which is preparing for home matches against the United States at Tallaght Stadium in Dublin on 20 September and with Japan on 27 September and 3 October at the Dexcom Stadium in Galway and Virgin Media Park in Cork respectively.

The Irish team will then travel for two games against South Africa in late October.

"It's good to be back. I'm feeling good and fully fit now and I'm just so glad to be fit and healthy coming into this competition," Reilly told BBC Sport NI's Nicola McCarthy.

"You can't let yourself get too low, especially if you want to come back and keep firing.

"To have matches like this to come back to keeps me motivated. Keeping injury-free for the rest of my career would be great.

"It's really tough when you're away from it and it makes you more grateful when you get to come back in and hopefully put on an Ireland jersey again. It's a really exciting couple of months ahead."

'Attracting new fans important'

The 25-year-old is thrilled by the prospect of facing teams from around the globe.

"It's really cool to play against teams from different parts of the world. We've got USA, Japan and South Africa.

"All different styles so really exciting for us. They are teams we don't come across often so when we do it's always a good battle.

"They are all very unique so it's really testing. We'll have to have a different gameplan going into each game."

Playing at Tallaght Stadium will represent a first for the Ireland team, although the Republic of Ireland soccer team have often played at the venue.

"It's great to be playing at Tallaght Stadium for the first time. The Irish soccer team have kind of made that stadium their own so it'll be great to play there and hopefully attract some soccer fans as well maybe.

"Dublin is very accessible too so hopefully there will be a big fanbase there.

"Every time we play I think we attract new fans and that's always growing so it's really important for us to have home games and people supporting us.

"Hopefully if they come and enjoy it they'll come back again."

The prospect of facing South Africa is one that excites Reilly.

"South Africa are obviously one of the biggest rugby nations in the world so getting the opportunity to play there will be unbelievable," she added.

"They're an amazing outfit and they made it to the World Cup quarter-finals too, so it will be a great battle."