Ireland captain Caelan Doris will miss all three July Nations Championship matches—against Australia, Japan and New Zealand—after a foot injury sustained in Leinster’s URC final win over the Bulls. Leinster wing Tommy O’Brien is also out with a groin problem,
Caelan Doris limped off in the seventh minute of Leinster’s United Rugby Championship final at Croke Park on Friday. By full-time. he was back among his team-mates lifting the URC trophy and celebrating the win—but the injury came with an ending that feels sudden for a captain: he will miss July’s Nations Championship matches.
Ireland’s captain is ruled out of all three summer fixtures. starting with the opener against Australia on 4 July. followed by a meeting with Japan on 11 July and then a clash with New Zealand at Eden Park the following week. The decision is tied to a foot injury that Doris said he would “get… checked out. ” only for it to be severe enough to rule him out of all three games.
Leinster wing Tommy O’Brien will also be absent from the same run of matches, sidelined by a groin injury. With both Doris and O’Brien out, Ulster duo Bryn and Zac Ward have been called up in their place, while hooker Dan Sheehan will captain Ireland in Doris’s absence.
Ireland’s schedule now shifts quickly from injury aftermath to preparation for travel. Andy Farrell’s side fly to Sydney on Monday ahead of the Nations Championship opener with Australia on 4 July.
The timing of the setbacks makes the blows cut deeper. Farrell’s side are already without fly-half Jack Crowley and key prop Andrew Porter, so losing Doris and O’Brien compounds an already-thin stretch of selection options.
Doris’s evening had looked like a turning point at the stadium before it became something else. He limped off against the Bulls early on. returned to lift the URC trophy. and joined in the celebrations with his team-mates at full-time—an image that now sits beside the reality of what the injury means for July. After the final. he indicated he would have the problem checked. but the injury is severe enough that the captain’s summer is effectively paused.
O’Brien’s situation is similarly abrupt. He was also forced off against the Bulls with a groin issue, despite an impressive campaign that included scoring the opening try in Leinster’s Investec Champions Cup final defeat by Bordeaux.
For Ulster, the call-ups offer a reward that comes straight from form. The Ward brothers have been brought in after an improved campaign that has now put 10 players in the Ireland squad.
Zac Ward, 27, previously played for Ireland in Rugby Sevens and has featured in four Emerging Ireland and Ireland ‘A’ fixtures. His brother Bryn. 21. marked a breakthrough season with Ulster and played a key role as Richie Murphy’s side reached the Challenge Cup final. Bryn was also a training panellist for the Six Nations.
The next few days are about building the XI around those changes—and doing it quickly enough that the captain’s absence doesn’t become the story before the opening kick in Sydney.
Ireland rugby Caelan Doris Tommy O’Brien Nations Championship Australia 4 July Japan 11 July New Zealand Eden Park Dan Sheehan captain Bryn Ward Zac Ward foot injury groin injury Leinster Bulls URC final Croke Park