'Motivated' Garry Ringrose agrees to a long-term IRFU deal

Midfielder Garry Ringrose has followed his Ireland and Leinster colleague Tadhg Furlong by agreeing to a long-term IRFU central contract that will keep him playing his rugby at home until the end of the 2024/25 season. It was November 25, just days after Ireland signed off on a successful Autumn Nations Series with a win over Argentina, that coveted tighthead Furlong agreed to terms taking him through to summer 2025.

Now Ringrose has followed suit 13 days later, the soon-to-be 27-year-old shaking hands on a lengthy deal after wearing the No13 Ireland shirt in the wins over Japan, the All Blacks and the Pumas following an injury-enforced layoff over the summer.  

It was November 2016 when Ringrose first made the breakthrough with the Ireland national team, debuting against Canada in Dublin, and he now has a total of 37 caps and ten tries to his name.  

Away from Ireland, Ringrose is poised to make his 91st appearance Leinster this Saturday at the Aviva Stadium when they host Bath in the opening round of the Heineken Champions Cup. He has scored 28 tries, winning a European title in 2018 and four successive PRO14 titles.

"Delighted to sign for another three years," said Ringrose. "It is an exciting time to be involved with Leinster and Ireland. Both squads have the ambition to be competing for silverware every year and I am motivated to do whatever I can to contribute."

David Nucifora, the IRFU high-performance director, added: "Garry has had a tough road with injuries since the World Cup in Japan but he is a top international player who delivers big performances for Ireland and Leinster. He will be an influential figure at both national and provincial level over the coming years."

Ringrose had previously spoken about his career highs and lows in an interview with RugbyPass. “There is a few pinch myself moments,” explained Ringrose, starting with the positives before veering into some negatives that helped him become the talent he is.

“I remember scoring my first try for Ireland. That is one of those moments, being out on the pitch at the Aviva and not believing that I had actually scored a try against Australia. We had played the week before against Canada and I actually got over but it was called a forward pass. 

“Not that I would be particularly selfish or judge myself on how many tries I score, but I just remember it being a pinch yourself moment when I scored against Australia. There has been a rake of moments between then and now, the obvious ones are lifting the trophies.

“The difficult moments helped shape my attitude towards the game and what I have learnt. There is a rake of moments I’d love to change, a moment of time I’d love to have made a different decision or done something differently in preparation."