Ireland's Cormac Izuchukwu reveals how he put off surgery to make Six Nations debut vs Italy

Izuchukwu made his Ireland debut in the 2024 Autumn Series, with a 50-minute effort at home to Fiji. The 23-year-old built up his personal cap collection this past Summer, as the door opened up for two more Tests as a predominance of the men in green were whisked away on Lions tour duties. Izuchukwu starred in Ireland's one-sided wins over Georgia and Portugal, yet such international experience paled in comparison to a hit-out in Rugby's Greatest Championship.

"It's mental." Izuchukwu said after Ireland's 20-13 win over Italy. "For me, at the France game [Six Nations Round One], such a big stage and I had a taste of it from sitting on the bench as the 24th man.

"But then I treat every Ireland game just like an Ireland game. They're all so special to me, whether it's Portugal or Fiji or Georgia or whatever, they mean the world to me. But, I was blown away by the response from just social media, online, my family, it's such a big deal to them.

"Six Nations, maybe I didn't grasp it as much as I should have, so that was a shock. But I kind of came to terms with the last couple of days, got my head around it and then just got stuck in."

"You’re playing for Ireland, you get a kind of nervousness that you never really experienced at club. It's so much bigger. Getting that bus in, everyone's waving at you and stuff. It's class, it’s good."

Izuchukwu's road to making his Six Nations debut was a rocky one. The versatile forward only had five Ulster caps under his belt since the start of the 2025/26 URC season, due to a string of aggravating toe, foot and ankle injuries. Whilst the stop-start form would send even the most experienced international into a lull of ring-rust form, Izuchukwu battled on and even put off having surgery for a Six Nations run.

"I was delighted [to play against Italy]. Obviously I've had a pretty crap season. I've been injured for the whole season, played like four or five games, haven't played since December (early January) I think.

"I met a surgeon recently and I was supposed to get surgery and stuff, and said I'd give it one more shot and then all of a sudden you're playing again, so it's class."

"Because I'd missed so much of the season, the concern was it [repeated injuries] would lead on, continue on to the next season. So, the idea of meeting the surgeon was to kind of get ahead of it, put it to bed now, fix it, park it and go again. But as I said, I’m looked after so well here with the Irish physios and obviously the physios in Ulster look after me really well, and we decided to give it another shot. Like, listen, it’s unbelievable; a Six Nations debut, I'm so delighted."

Izuchukwu is one of a handful of Ulster players that have made good upon their extended opportunities upon the international stage. The Belfast based side has gone from being the once forgotten province, to providing a solid crux of Andy Farrell's team, as the likes of Stuart McCloskey, Tom O'Toole, Jacob Stockdale, Nick Timoney, Rob Baloucoune, and Bryn Ward find themseleves in the wider training camp, with Nathan Doak, Jude Postlethwaite and Tom Stewart also pushing upon the fringes.

Ulster have had an impressive start to the 2025/26 URC season, with seven wins in 10 matches seeding the province at fourth upon this international break. A new-look coaching structure headed up my Richie Murphy and Mark Sexton had breathed new life into the side, with Izuchukwu delighted to see his club mates take their opportunities in the green jersey.

"It's good, but I think it's no shock." Iauzhuckwu said. "Stu’s [McCloskey] been class for the last 10 years, He's unbelievable for us, for Ulster. If you watch us play and even when he plays for Ireland, he’s always been good. He got an opportunity today, it went well.

"Rob [Baloucoune], obviously, is a complete joke [as to how good he is] when he's on, like today, he’s an absolute joke. Then there's boys like Tom Stewart, Doaky (Nathan Doak) and Jude (Postlethwaite) still yet to get back in or even get their first shot. So, looking forward to that.

"It's nice to come in, obviously, we're teammates, but the same time you're here, you're playing for Ireland. So you have to get around the lads. Like for me, it's so special playing with the lads like James Ryan, big Joe [McCarthy], lads I look up to, Tadhg Beirne, obviously Eddie (Edogbo) too. It’s special."

On why the Ulster stars have formed a contingency in the Ireland squad now, Izuchukwu added;

"I just think with the way the [Ireland] squad's going, a couple lads have obviously moved on. Obviously like Bundee (Aki), he's not in so lads are getting their shot. But I think at the same time, Faz (Andy Farrell) obviously picks what he thinks is the best team. So, if lads are playing well they get rewarded.

"Whenever you're [Ulster] winning games, you obviously feel better. When you're reviewing games going into weeks and then you can stack that back-to-back, and hopefully when you come into camp, you have that belief, that trust, that you've been playing well, playing in the system. We obviously play a similar system to Ireland, with Mark [Sexton - Attack coach] coming in. Mark's obviously an unbelievable coach. So it's kind of easier to get back into it."

Izuchukwu was withdrawn from the match mid-way through the second half, as his Ulster teammate Nick Timoney closed out the contest with Italy on the blindside flank. Izuchukwu revealed how it was quite a nervous watch as Ireland closed out the win, as he urged Ireland wing James Lowe to go the distance and score his 80th minute interception.

"I was pretty nervous, but I have a lot of belief too. It's quite hard, the human in you is always thinking the worst, so I was quite nervous, but I had a feeling now the lads would see it through and they did."

"We speak about being ruthless all the time and always playing what's on. You get an opportunity like that in the Six Nations, a massive line break, make the most of it. I think we were unlucky with that kick in the end [Jack Crowley missing touch] not to get an extra point there.

With three Ireland players making their Six Nations debut in the same match, and a strong cohort of younger stars pushing through, the term 'transition' has been used quite often to describe Andy Farrell's side. As Izuchukwu is one such player at the heart of this new era, the forward expressed his thoughts on being apart of a new generation of top quality talents.

"It's a tough question. For me, I think if you look at the squad and who's there, a lot of the lads are the best in the world in their position, or, if not, they kind of should be viewed as so. Everyone on that team is so good. Obviously, it's a bit younger now, but for me, when I come in here, I feel like I'm in the best team in the world with the best players in the world. That's all that really matters for me."