# Ireland Wolfhounds

The Ireland Wolfhounds (also known as Ireland A and Ireland B) are the second national rugby union team of Ireland, behind the Ireland national team.

## History

The Wolfounds previously competed in the Churchill Cup together with the England Saxons, the national teams of Canada and the United States, as well as a selection of other nations' 1st, 2nd and 3rd representative sides (including Scotland A and the New Zealand Māori). They also played against other Six Nations countries' A sides during the Six Nations. They have intermittently played touring sides, namely South Africa in 2000, the All Blacks in 2001 and Australia in 2006. On the 21 June 2009, Ireland A won their first Churchill Cup, beating the England Saxons 49–22 in the final. They also won the Churchill Plate three times in 2006, 2007 and 2008. Initially named Ireland B, the side was redesignated to Ireland A from the 1992–1993 season. They were once again renamed the Ireland Wolfhounds in January 2010. This name was inspired by a nomadic invitational side, which competed between 1956 and 1987 against other club sides throughout Ireland. The Wolfhounds have not competed in a competition since the IRFU declined to compete in the 2016 Tbilisi Cup. Ireland A played their first match in over seven years against the All Blacks XV in November 2022 at the RDS losing 19–47.

## Squad

The Ireland ‘A’ Coaching Team, led by Head Coach Mike Prendergast, selected a 29-player squad for the match against England ‘A’ at Ashton Gate
| Player | Position | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Club/province |
| Jack Aungier | Prop | (1998-11-20) 20 November 1998 (age 26) | 0 | Connacht |
| Diarmuid Barron | Hooker | (1998-08-06) 6 August 1998 (age 26) | 0 | Munster |
| James Culhane | Back row | (2002-10-22) 22 October 2002 (age 22) | 0 | Leinster |
| Max Deegan (c) | Back row | (1996-10-01) 1 October 1996 (age 28) | 2 | Leinster |
| Brian Gleeson | Back row | (2004-02-05) 5 February 2004 (age 21) | 0 | Munster |
| Oli Jager | Prop | (1995-07-05) 5 July 1995 (age 29) | 1 | Munster |
| Sean Jansen | Back row | (1999-05-10) 10 May 1999 (age 25) | 0 | Connacht |
| Alex Kendellen | Back row | (2001-03-03) 3 March 2001 (age 23) | 0 | Munster |
| Paddy McCarthy | Prop | (2003-05-28) 28 May 2003 (age 21) | 0 | Leinster |
| Darragh Murray | Lock | (2001-07-04) 4 July 2001 (age 23) | 0 | Connacht |
| Evan O'Connell | Lock | (2004-05-04) 4 May 2004 (age 20) | 0 | Munster |
| Conor O'Tighearnaigh | Lock | (2003-04-02) 2 April 2003 (age 21) | 0 | Leinster |
| Tom O'Toole | Prop | (1998-09-23) 23 September 1998 (age 26) | 16 | Ulster |
| Stephen Smyth | Hooker | (2004-07-31) 31 July 2004 (age 20) | 0 | Leinster |
| Alex Soroka | Back row | (2001-02-19) 19 February 2001 (age 24) | 0 | Leinster |
| Fineen Wycherley | Lock | (1997-12-11) 11 December 1997 (age 27) | 1 | Munster |
| Shayne Bolton | Wing | (2000-06-29) 29 June 2000 (age 24) | 0 | Connacht |
| Harry Byrne | Fly-half | (1999-04-22) 22 April 1999 (age 25) | 4 | Leinster |
| Hugh Cooney | Centre | (2003-06-26) 26 June 2003 (age 21) | 0 | Leinster |
| Shane Daly | Wing | (1996-12-19) 19 December 1996 (age 28) | 2 | Munster |
| Cathal Forde | Centre | (2001-04-11) 11 April 2001 (age 23) | 0 | Connacht |
| Hugh Gavin | Centre | (2004-01-10) 10 January 2004 (age 21) | 0 | Connacht |
| Fintan Gunne | Scrum-half | (2003-07-28) 28 July 2003 (age 21) | 0 | Leinster |
| Ben Murphy | Scrum-half | (2001-04-23) 23 April 2001 (age 23) | 0 | Connacht |
| Ben O'Connor | Fullback | (2004-08-20) 20 August 2004 (age 20) | 0 | Munster |
| Tommy O'Brien | Wing | (1998-05-28) 28 May 1998 (age 26) | 0 | Leinster |
| Andrew Osborne | Fullback | (2003-08-16) 16 August 2003 (age 21) | 0 | Leinster |
| Jude Postlethwaite | Centre | (2002-04-03) 3 April 2002 (age 22) | 0 | Ulster |
| Zac Ward | Wing | (1998-12-11) 11 December 1998 (age 26) | 0 | Ulster |

## Home record

Ireland A Home Record :
| Facility | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | % Won |
| Donnybrook Stadium | 19 | 12 | 0 | 7 | 63.16% |
| Galway Sportsground | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 50% |
| Lansdowne Road | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 40% |
| Musgrave Park | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 50% |
| Ravenhill Stadium | 12 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 50% |
| RDS Arena | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 50% |
| Tallaght Stadium | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
| Thomond Park | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 60% |
| Total | 48 | 27 | 0 | 21 | 56.25% |
Above is the Ireland Wolfhound's home record in each stadium. Up to date as of 4 November 2022.

## Statistics
### Overall

| Against | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against | Diff | % Won |
| Argentina | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 12 | +15 | 100.00% |
| Argentina Jaguars | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 64 | 8 | +56 | 100.00% |
| Australia A | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 17 | 24 | –7 | 0% |
| Bay of Plenty (New Zealand) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 39 | 52 | –13 | 0% |
| Canada | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 119 | 70 | +49 | 100% |
| England Saxons | 29 | 10 | 0 | 19 | 542 | 696 | –154 | 34.48% |
| Fiji | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 53 | 0 | +53 | 100% |
| France | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | –1 | 0% |
| France A | 11 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 205 | 295 | –90 | 36.36% |
| Georgia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 5 | +35 | 100% |
| Italy A | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 259 | 52 | +207 | 100% |
| King Country (New Zealand) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 26 | 32 | –6 | 0% |
| New Zealand Academy | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 74 | –59 | 0% |
| Māori | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 38 | 118 | –80 | 0% |
| New Zealand XV | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 30 | 43 | –13 | 0% |
| All Blacks XV | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 19 | 47 | –28 | 0% |
| Northland (New Zealand) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 69 | –53 | 0% |
| Samoa | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 48 | 75 | –27 | 50% |
| Scotland A | 23 | 11 | 2 | 10 | 468 | 474 | –6 | 47.83% |
| South Africa | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 19 | 50 | —31 | 0.00% |
| South Africa A | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 25 | +3 | 100% |
| South Africa XV | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 11 | +17 | 100.00% |
| Thames Valley (New Zealand University) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 12 | +26 | 100% |
| Tonga XV | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 48 | 19 | +29 | 100% |
| United States | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 106 | 29 | +77 | 100% |
| Wales A | 10 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 240 | 263 | –23 | 30% |
| Total | 108 | 50 | 3 | 55 | 2,535 | 2,549 | –24 | 46.3% |
The above is a list of the Ireland Wolfhounds' head-to-head record against international first and second sides, non-national representative sides such as the New Zealand Māori, as well as some club sides. Up to date as of 24 February 2025

## Honours

* Six Nations A Championship
** Winners: 1 (2002)
* Six Nations A Triple Crown
** Winners: 2 (2000, 2002)
* Churchill Cup
** Winners: 1 (2009)
* Churchill Plate
** Winners: 3 (2006, 2007, 2008)
* Melrose Sevens
** Winners: 1 (1991)