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Stuart McCloskey.Ben Brady/INPHO

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McCloskey: From playing against O’Connell to being the senior man in Ireland camp

The Ulster centre is taking a leading role for the two-game summer tour.

6.31am, 3 Jul 2025

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THERE’S A NOTABLY different feel to this Ireland camp for Stuart McCloskey. With so many Ireland regulars touring Australia with the Lions, McCloskey has found himself the oldest member of Paul O’Connell’s 33-man squad to tour Georgia and Portugal. The Ulster centre is somewhat reluctant to embrace that senior status.

“Finlay Bealham absolutely did me in going to the Lions,” says McCloskey.

“I messaged him straightaway being like ‘you’ve completely mugged me here, I’m the oldest now’. He [Paul O’Connell] gets a dig in most days about how old I am, but I’m still faster than all those young lads anyway, I’ve got a few more years left in me. I keep telling Jacob [Stockdale] and Nick Timoney I’ll outlast them, so I’ll get them at some stage.”

The 32-year-old’s international career stretches back to 2016, debuting against England as a 23-year-old on the same day a young Josh van der Flier earned his first Test cap. McCloskey even shared a pitch with O’Connell before the former Munster player – who is interim Ireland head coach for this two-game tour – announced his retirement in early 2016.

McCloskey spoke to the media in Abbotstown this week.Leah Scholes / INPHO

Leah Scholes / INPHO / INPHO

“I think I was in one training camp with him. I think I’m the only one in the squad to have played a game against him as well. We won down at Thomond that day for Ulster, I’ll not mention that to him, hopefully that comes up and he sees that.

“As a player, [he was] incredibly intimidating, you see some of the clips of him from back in the day and he’d be red carded basically every week for what he did but I think he knows that himself now. It was a different time.

“Intimidating as a player, as a coach he has that intimidation factor but I think he’s very personable. He lets the young guys come out of their shell, a bit like what Faz is like. He’s watched Faz over the past three, four years and learned a lot from that. How has he put his own stamp on it? There hasn’t been a great deal different. He’s seemed quite laidback to me, but with me being the oldest in the group it’s easy to feel a bit more laidback when you’re 32, not 20.”

McCloskey is asked to elaborate on his experience of playing against O’Connell, and showcases an impressive recall for a game played in May 2014 – a 19-17 win for the northern province.

“Ulster sent down the biggest B team of all time because it was a dead rubber at the end of the season and Munster had their best team out. I remember it very well. Micheal Heaney scored a try, they were trying to get to second and we were fourth, couldn’t go up or down, it was back in the Pro12 days and we got the win, I think it was my fourth cap.

McCloskey in action against Ulster in 2014.Ryan Byrne / INPHO

Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO

“I think Michael Allen (played with me at centre). James McKinney was at 10. Good story because the coach said ‘Ah, you’ll play more next season’ to him and he was actually leaving that summer. I won’t say who the coach was, but you can figure that out.”

Moving to more current concerns, McCloskey says he is framing this two-game Ireland tour as an opportunity to keep himself in Farrell’s thinking for future Test windows. Competing for a jersey in one of the most competitive areas of the squad, since that 2016 debut McCloskey has added 18 further caps – 16 of which have come under Farrell’s watch.

“I don’t think I’m doing a lot wrong,” he says.

“I think when I’ve played I’ve went well, it’s just there’s four very good centres in the lads, two of them are away [with the Lions, Bundee Aki and Garry Ringrose] and you could argue Robbie [Henshaw] would’ve been away as well if he wasn’t injured, so I don’t think I’m too far off it.

“What can I do better? Keep improving on a few things, probably a bit more physicality in defence, I think I’ve got most things in attack. Add a few more strings to my bow, whether that’s breakdown or poach threat, but overall I don’t think there’s a lot in it. A few decisions go my way, I’m sitting here with a few more caps.

“I still think I’ve got a bit of rugby to go in my career, I think I have a few years left,” he continues.

“So this Lions period the last time, when we played America and Japan, sort of springboarded me on to get a lot more caps and be a lot more involved.

“I think I’ve been involved in two Six Nations wins in that time and a World Cup. Hopefully I’ll put a good foot forward for any games coming up over the next few years and keep my head around the place and push into the next World Cup.”

Ciarán Kennedy

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