Ireland Rugby Social
Listen on BBC Sounds

Image source, Getty Images

Ireland back row Jack Conan has praised head coach Andy Farrell for implementing a culture shift in camp to encourage players to talk more about their feelings.

Conan, who has won 62 caps since his Irish debut in 2015, has spent the majority of his international career working with Farrell, who was promoted to the head coach role in 2019 after working as a defence coach during Joe Schmidt's reign.

Conan believes Farrell's approach to open communication since he was appointed head coach has brought the squad closer together and helped new players settle quicker.

"He says 'I want you to be open and say how you are feeling whether it's good or bad, no wrong answers'," Conan told the Ireland Rugby Social podcast.

"I think when you are vulnerable or open it lets someone else be the same and it builds connection. I think it's been a real strong quality of the squad.

"Before, you'd be nervous and rattled and you wouldn't want to share [feelings] with anyone publicly in [team] meetings.

"Now, Faz would say 'do you all understand?' and people say now 'I don't' or 'I'm not sure'. You always fear being wrong to some degree, but if you have the best intentions and make a mistake it's fine. It's been a huge thing."

Image source, Getty Images

Away from the international scene, there was some big news coming from Leinster after it was announced that Noel McNamara will replace Leo Cullen as head coach from next season.

Cullen said in June that he would leave his role at the end of the current campaign after a trophy-laden 12 years with Leinster.

McNamara is currently attack coach at Bordeaux Begles, who defeated Leinster in the Investec Champions Cup final last season.

The 43-year-old previously spent five years at Leinster in a number of roles, including Leinster 'A' head coach and as academy manager.

He joined the Sharks in South Africa in 2021 as attack and backs coach before taking on his current role with Bordeaux in 2023.

The Nations Championship trophy has made its way to Dublin for tonight's game.

Ireland will hope to get their hands on it come finals weekend at the end of this month.

Image source, Getty Images

The Nations Championship is back and we want to hear from you.

How will Ireland get on after a mixed summer?

Will Argentina spring a surprise in Dublin?

Who will stand out for Andy Farrell's side?

Let us know using Get Involved!

Image source, Getty Images

The first leg of the Nations Championship kicked off in the summer and it was a mixed few weeks for Ireland.

They started the tournament with a narrow 33-31 win over Australia in Sydney, which had late drama.

Replacement Australia fly-half Ben Donaldson missed a last-gasp penalty as Ireland claimed a comeback bonus-point win, and they followed that up with a more comfortable 36-20 victory over Japan in their second match.

But New Zealand had far too much for Ireland at Eden Park in the third and final fixture, as the All Blacks picked up a 41-21 victory.

Image source, Getty Images

Argentina also had a mixed summer as they welcomed Scotland, Wales and England for their opening three matches.

It was a high-scoring thriller as Scotland ran out 47-38 winners in a 12-try thriller to kick off the tournament.

Los Pumas bounced back with a convincing 35-21 win over Wales, and ended their summer with a defeat as England won 34-21 in Santiago del Estero.

Home advantage will switch to the northern hemisphere for the second set of Nations Championship fixtures.

Each team will play opposition from the opposite hemipshere across six match weeks, and they will be ranked in two league tables.

Then, come finals weekend, the top northern hemisphere team will play the best ranked southern hemisphere side, then second will play second and so forth.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

It's a blockbuster weekend, starting with this one in Dublin.

Here's what's to come this weekend.

Image source, Inpho

Hi everyone!

It's time for some Friday night lights in Dublin as Ireland host Argentina in the Nations Championship.

Both sides had a mixed summer and will be looking to kick off the northern hemisphere leg of the tournament with a victory.

There's also plenty of history between the two sides, so this should be a good one.

You can listen on BBC Sounds, BBC Radio Ulster and we'll also have live updates right here, so you won't miss a thing.

Thanks for joining us!