| Venue: RDS Enviornment, Dublin Date: Saturday, 3 December Kick-off: 19:35 GMT |
| Protection: Reside BBC Radio Foyle and BBC Sounds |
Eire scrum-half John Cooney is pondering a swap to Scotland subsequent yr below World Rugby’s new eligibility guidelines.
Cooney is eligible to play for the Scots, via his household, three years after his final Eire look which got here in February 2020.
“I will make the choice alone phrases and no matter I really feel is true for me,” mentioned the 32-year-old Ulster participant.
“Half of my household dwell in Scotland and my dad’s a proud Scotsman.”
Cooney received the final of his 11 worldwide caps as a substitute towards England within the Six Nations and doesn’t seem within the body for a return below coach Andy Farrell.
A doable swap might see Cooney compete in a World Cup for the primary time subsequent yr however within the blue shirt of Scotland below the eligibility legal guidelines which got here into impact final January.
“I’ve to ensure all the pieces is true with me with Ulster by way of the contract and stuff like that,” he informed the Ulster Rugby Present.
“I’ve seen individuals commenting – I can see different individuals’s notion of it however they’re usually individuals who don’t have any connection or affiliation to a different nation.
“I can see either side of the dialog however I will not be listening outdoors. Both manner I do know my Dad could be immensely proud if I did play [for Scotland].”
High-two showdown
Cooney’s instant focus is on Saturday’s inter-provincial derby towards URC leaders Leinster in Dublin.
Ulster sit second and eight factors behind their Irish rivals with a sport in hand – their solely defeat this season got here by the hands of Leinster, who prevailed 20-13 at a rain-soaked Kingspan Stadium in September.
“It is disappointing that we did not a minimum of draw that sport – we misplaced by seven however we might have scored and left that one on the market,” mentioned the Dubliner, who performed for Leinster and Connacht earlier than shifting to Ulster in 2017.
“We spoke about having a chip on our shoulder – we all know we received away (towards Leinster) final yr and defended rather well, which was the spotlight of the sport. Nonetheless, that does not matter for something this season.
“We need to be high of the league – there is no higher sport this week than Leinster and off the again of that two massive European matches.
“We confirmed final yr how good we have turn into and I really feel we’ve got the squad now to kick on.
“We felt like we deserved to get silverware final season and that is what we’ll be going for this season. The power in depth is there however generally you want a little bit of luck.”
You may see the complete interview with John Cooney on the Ulster Rugby Present at 22:00 GMT on Thursday on BBC2 NI and BBC iPlayer.
