The great race to the Ireland number 10 jersey has resumed in Portugal this week as an open-minded Andy Farrell assesses the merits of the contenders in what he sees as a wide-open field ahead of the 2026 Guinness Six Nations.
Currently a four-man competition between most recent incumbents Sam Prendergast and Jack Crowley, alongside the in-form Harry Byrne and Connacht-bound Ciaran Frawley, head coach Farrell said he is also monitoring the form of Bordeaux-Begles playmaker Joey Carbery, who seems set to rejoin home province Leinster this summer, with the 2027 World Cup in Australia now just 20 months away.
It is the opening round of the 2026 championship, however, that needs addressing foremost and the Ireland boss admitted all four of his fly-halves currently training at Quinta do Lago on the Algarve had a shot at facing France in Paris on Thursday week.
“That’s only fair, I would have thought, to be like that,” Farrell told Irish journalists ahead of Monday’s Six Nations launch in Edinburgh.
“We’ve got a good few tough sessions that people will have to keep earning the respect of their team-mates from, so staying open-minded is the right thing to do.
“I mean there’s quite a bit, isn’t there, that we have to be open-minded enough in regards to how camp goes, etc. People coming back in who have not played much rugby at all, some coming back from injury, etc. So being open-minded about it all, really.”
The form of Byrne since his return to Leinster from a loan spell at Bristol Bears at the end of last season has certainly widened the selection debate at 10.
The 26-year-old who earned the most recent of his four Test caps off the bench against Scotland in the championship-clinching final round of the 2024 championship, has shared the Champions Cup starting duties with Prendergast through the pool stages and both Farrell and his provincial and national team captain Caelan Doris have seen Byrne’s confidence soar in the current campaign.
“I like the fact that he’s showing, not just with how he’s playing, but within his body language, that he’s here to compete and he’s here to be taken notice of,” the head coach said.
“I think he’s playing with a lot of confidence, he’s that type of guy anyway. I suppose he’s able to be a little bit more confident when his body’s good, he’s fit and healthy and he’s playing regular and we’ve seen that.
“I think how he’s goal-kicking and all of that, that just coincides with the confidence piece as well. He’s obviously in a good spot and he’ll be so proud of himself, I would have thought, of getting back in the room, into camp, from what would have been a difficult enough year from the start of last year, but fair play to him for doing what he’s done.”
Doris believes Byrne’s loan spell in England has been hugely beneficial to the fly-half.
“I think it was a great experience for him, he picked up quite a lot from being over there and probably a bit of a new-found pep in his step coming back in.
“He’s someone who believes in himself, definitely knows he’s capable and he’s showing that week on week at the minute. I think he’s good in and around behind the scenes as well in terms of how he leads the week.”
Ireland’s play-making stocks may be replete heading into the 2026 Six Nations but as far as Farrell is concerned there are never enough options, including a returning Joey Carbery, who’s two-year stint in the Top 14 since departing Munster has seen Leinster emerge as favourite to re-sign the now-30-year-old, who left them under advice from the IRFU in search of game time at number 10 in the summer of 2018.
Farrell last selected Carbery to start against Fiji for his 37th Ireland appearance in November 2022, arguably hastening his exit from Munster for Bordeaux the following summer but the Ireland boss is eager to reconnect.
“Get everyone back. Yeah, get everyone back as much as they can. Joey is a great lad, great player. He’s going to add to any squad, any province.” Playing in France, Farrell said, had done Carbery: “The world of good.
“Playing scrum half as well (off the bench against Stade Francais on Saturday). Not bad, actually. He played a bit of scrum half.
“What a place to go and play your rugby. And on the back of that, they’re not a bad team, are they?
“So he’s got to come back a bigger and better player for that experience, that’s for sure.”
