‘There’s A Massive Challenge Coming’ – Timoney On The ‘Always Strong’ Welsh Back Row

It is well documented that it took McCloskey, an Ireland debutant back in 2016, over five years to make successive Test appearances, and it was not until the 2023 Six Nations title-winning campaign that he was able to put a run of Championship games together.

The Bangor man is currently producing the best form of his international career, judging by the widespread praise he has received from both home and abroad during the opening three rounds of this year’s Six Nations.

For Timoney, seeing his Ulster team-mate flourish at the highest level has spurred him on to fulfil his own potential in the green jersey, with the 30-year-old’s impressive displays off the bench in recent weeks earning him his first Six Nations start.

“I could do with Stu’s confidence not being as high sometimes, when you spend as long with him as I do,” quipped Timoney, who will feature at openside flanker against the Welsh, winning his 10th cap.

“But no, he’s just showing what we at Ulster have already known for a number of years, I feel, which is that he’s one of the best players in the world.

“I think it’s been the talk of world rugby almost, it feels like. But I wouldn’t say it is surprising in any way to me. Obviously, I actually am delighted for him but he’s certainly happy for himself too!

“I kind of almost even said it to him the other day. There actually is an incredible story there really of just perseverance. For me being so close to him, and for being in actually quite a similar position probably in a lot of ways, definitely.

“But just for anyone really, any professional rugby players, it’s a great story. I think it’s a great reflection on Irish rugby, that he’s probably never really been a starter consistently until this year.

“He’s 33. There’d probably be a lot of places in the world, in world rugby, where they’d be closed-minded enough that the door would be closed (to him) at that stage.”

Timoney is one of five changes to the Ireland team that won 42-21 in record-breaking fashion against England. There is a strong Ulster representation in the squad with five starters from Richie Murphy’s side, and Tom Stewart and uncapped scrum half Nathan Doak on the bench.

It will obviously mean a huge amount for the Dubliner, who has 177 Ulster appearances to his name, to don a starting shirt for the first time in the Six Nations. He was a starter against Japan at the Aviva Stadium just four months ago, racing over for an opportunist try.

At the time he said he was ‘a bit more settled and more mature’ compared to the player who made his Ireland debut in the summer of 2021. Adopting ‘a more measured approach’, and not getting too ‘hung up’ on selection, has certainly worked in his favour with this his third start in Ireland’s last 10 Tests.

Speaking earlier this week before the team was revealed to the public, he acknowledged: “Everyone wants to start and I’d love to start as well, but a lot of people have said that to me, ‘When are you going to start?’.

“Friends and family are obviously trying to imply that I’ve been going well off the bench and obviously I would love to start. But I still feel like I’m playing the game.

“If you come on for 30 minutes in Twickenham, maybe you’d argue the game wasn’t necessarily in the balance at that stage, but that’s a pretty important part of things. I’ve always tried to not worry too much about selection or whatever it is.

“The fact is that the coaches are backing me to be in the squad, and to come on when games are being decided, and I’m getting to do what I’ve always dreamed of doing. I’m not worrying too much about what number I’ve got on my back.”

Timoney will combine with captain Caelan Doris and Jack Conan in Ireland’s starting back row, while Wales have also rejigged their loose fowards, bringing in James Botham for the injured Taine Plumtree (shoulder), and moving Alex Mann to the blindside to accommodate Botham’s inclusion at openside.

He rates the Welsh back row contingent highly, regularly coming up against them in the BKT United Rugby Championship. Ulster also had Cardiff in their EPCR Challenge Cup pool this season, and will host the Ospreys in the competition’s round of 16 next month.

With influential number 8 Aaron Wainwright – the 2026 Six Nations’ second leading carrier (48) so far – recovering from a leg injury to train fully this week, Wales will relish this shot at upsetting Ireland after going so close to putting together a winning display against Scotland in round 3.

“The Welsh back row is always strong. When you play the Welsh regions, even the lads who don’t get picked for Wales are always strong,” noted Timoney.

“So with Wainwright, Mann, Botham, all these lads, like you know tough challenges are coming. I’ve known that for the last number of years, but certainly strong ball-carrying, strong chop tacklers, good at the breakdown. Physical, fit.

“Wales are a team that are a hell of a lot better than their results have shown, or that they’re being given credit for. I think in the Scotland game they certainly showed where they are getting to.

“You can see over the course of this Six Nations, week on week, the more time they spend together, the more time they have to coach each other and get used to each other, that they’re becoming a lot better and a lot more dangerous as a team.

“We’re not taking anything lightly this week, we know there’s a massive challenge coming, as there is every week in the Six Nations really. Certainly as a back row, we’ll have to be ready for it.”

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