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League of Ireland Horse Racing TV Listings GAA Fixtures The Video Review Sport meets news, current affairs, society & pop culture Rugby Weekly Extra Dive into all the news and analysis 3 times a week The Football Family Weekly insights from the week’s big talking points Advertisement More Stories Ireland centre Stuart McCloskey.Dan Sheridan/INPHO McCloskey stands up for Ireland but could miss Japan game The 33-year-old centre was one of Ireland’s best players against New Zealand. 6.01am, 3 Nov 2025 Share options Murray Kinsella Reports from Chicago AS THE GAME slipped away from Ireland, it was all the more frustrating for Stuart McCloskey. He was sitting on the bench with ice on his groin, powerless as the All Blacks swept through the Irish defence to score three tries in the final quarter. McCloskey had done his utmost to put Ireland into a winning position. Backed by Andy Farrell with one of his biggest starts in the green jersey, the Ulster man was excellent. Despite coming off in the 56th minute, McCloskey was Ireland’s top ball-carrier with 12 and he showed his distribution skills too. He was inches away from landing a couple of try-scoring offloads, Ardie Savea doing a brilliant job to stop one of them to Jamie Osborne in the first half. Osborne was gone if Savea hadn’t batted the ball down. “He went very well,” said Ireland boss Farrell after his side’s 26-13 defeat. “He was a handful, wasn’t he? It was a shame that he came off with a bit of groin soreness. How that develops, we’ll wait and see, but he had a strong game.” McCloskey himself was happy with how things went on an individual level. “I’ve played some big games over the years but that’s right up there, probably up there with the one against France in the Six Nations a couple of years ago,” said McCloskey. “I thought it went alright, I had some good impacts on the game. I wish a couple of the offloads had stuck and the lads had run them in, but overall I was very happy with how the 55 minutes went.” Advertisement McCloskey nearly lands an offload to Garry Ringrose.Gary Carr / INPHO Gary Carr / INPHO / INPHO Although Farrell was always expected to make a few changes for the Japan game in Dublin this Saturday, McCloskey certainly put his hand up to retain the number 12 shirt. That makes it all the more annoying that injury might deny him the chance for another start against the Brave Blossoms. He doesn’t want to give up his place to either Bundee Aki or Robbie Henshaw. “I’d love this groin to be alright,” said McCloskey “I’d love to get back out there, if not next week then the week after and put another foot down. There’s another two guys in there, two Lions waiting to go as well. It’s very competitive and you don’t want to give up the spot without a bit of a fight.” McCloskey started both of Ireland’s Tests on their July tour to Georgia and Portugal, but last weekend was an obvious step up with Farrell’s frontliners back in the squad. The 33-year-old centre was pleased with how he approached the challenge mentally. “I just tried to think of it as another game,” he said. “Faz asked me before, ‘What’s your thoughts on the day?’ I was like, ‘Just be calm.’ “I think I play my best rugby when I’m quite chilled out, getting the ball in my hands and play it like a kid out there, just get in the right positions, try to do the right thing and don’t try to make it bigger than what it is. It’s just a game of rugby.” It was a big selection call from Farrell, who has generally tended to back either Aki or Henshaw at number 12 when they’re available. McCloskey was Ireland's top carrier.Dan Sheridan / INPHO Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO But this time, McCloskey got the nod and Farrell mentioned that the Ulster man has had to be very patient in the last few years. “I had to say to myself maybe six or seven years ago to be patient and stick at it,” said McCloskey. “I always thought if I got a couple more caps when I was on three or four caps, I’d be happy, but I’ve just tried to stay in there and play good rugby for Ulster and try to put the pressure on the lads ahead of me to be the best they could be. “Hopefully, I’ve pushed them on a bit. They’ve got a few Lions tours out of it, so they can thank me for that! “Hopefully, this injury isn’t too bad and I get a few more games.” McCloskey has high hopes that Ireland will bounce back from the defeat in Chicago. “The hope probably comes from the talent in the group,” he said. “There’s a lot of very good players in there. “One bad game doesn’t make a bad team. You wouldn’t hide from it; it definitely makes the next month more challenging, but this team has bounced back before. We saw that in South Africa a couple of summers ago after losing the first Test, in New Zealand a few years ago when we lost the first Test and ended up winning 2-1. “Hopefully the lads bounce back in the right way, starting with Japan next week.” Murray Kinsella Viewcomments Send Tip or Correction Embed this post To embed this post, copy the code below on your site Email “McCloskey stands up for Ireland but could miss Japan game”. Recipient's Email Feedback on “McCloskey stands up for Ireland but could miss Japan game”. Your Feedback Your Email (optional) Report a Comment Please select the reason for reporting this comment. Please give full details of the problem with the comment... This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic. Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy before taking part. 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