Michael Milne: Munster prop marked Birthday with Ireland debut and first Test match try

Milne exploded off the bench mid-way through the second half, to take over from Jeremy Loughman upon the loose-head of the scrum. Milne put in a tremendous shift to mark his career and lifetime milestone, as he wrestled his way across the white-wash to bag Ireland's second try, as his parents and four sisters all watched on with delight in Saint-Denis. Looking back on the occasion, the Munster man revealed a mixed bag of emotions after the defeat in Paris.

“Well, look, you don't win a championship in the first game, so we'll reset and we'll go from there. We win every other game, we're still in the running for a championship. So I know the Grand Slam's gone, but we win every other game, we're still in the running for a championship, so that's what we'll go for.”

"Yeah, they [family] were here. I have four sisters, they were all over as well. After the match they were all looking at me like they were all hammered, so I was like, ‘oh Jesus’. But they seemed to enjoy it anyway.”

Milne's rise to an Ireland Test debut is not the most straightforward story. Hailing from County Offaly, his sporting journey began at aged seven in Birr, where GAA reigns in prominence over rugby union. Milne revealed how despite his sporting switch, he still recieved plenty of supporting messages from his old hurling teammates, who had even placed wagers on seeing the former Birr full forward cross for a try.

“Yeah, [I got] a lot of messages. It's a big hurling stronghold, so I think people were still a bit iffy, but I know my mates had a bet on me to score a try, so I must give them a message and see how it went.”

“Birr have been great to me. I went to Roscrea in my second year and Birr always supported me. I love the club. It's a good community down there, so yeah, it's great."

When asked when he first thought about a career chasing the oval shaped ball, Milne shared how growing up he only had sights on the sliotar;

"Never really [played rugby]. As I said, it's a big Hurling town, so you don't really think about rugby. Then Peter Smyth came down when I was in sixth year and offered me a Leinster academy contract, and I suppose that's when you have to try. I was still hurling with Birr Intermediate at the time, so I was standing in the square in the full forwards, so that's probably when I took it really seriously.”

Reflecting upon his Ireland debut, Milne has conflicting feelings due to the disappointment of the end result alongside the pride in how the replacements lifted the Irish intensity. The resident 'bomb squad' was fully deployed just before the hour mark, with Milne confident in how the bench helped Ireland gain their second half hold upon the match.

“I think just as a bench, we were just talking, it was that we really had an impact on physicality. I think that was the main thing we thought we lacked from the first half. So, as a bench, in bringing physicality when we came on, so that was the main thing we were aiming for. I think the bench, we had a great impact. We still have a bit to work on, but we had a good impact.”

Looking back upon the experience as a whole, Milne took plenty of learnings from his long awaited Test debut. An assortment of injuries at loose-head opened up the door for Milne, and his Munster teammate Jeremy Loughman to anchor the scrum against France. With the likes of Andrew Porter, Paddy McCarthy and Jack Boyle all side-lined, the loose-head mantle was handed to Loughman and Milne, a year after the loose-head prop had been an unused travelling reserve for the very same fixture in last year's Six Nations.

“I was actually 24th man for the French game in the Aviva three years ago, so I got a bit of a taste there. Everything's just quicker, everything's more physical. Scrums and lineout are obviously a big part of the game. It's a quick learning curve, but it's very enjoyable, you get to test yourself against the best.

“There's obviously a few injuries in my position, so when I came into camp I was like, right, this is an opportunity now, I'm going to try and take it. Just take it day by day and go from there.”

“I would, 100 per cent [like more opportunities]. Especially to get a taste for that, it's unbelievable. know the result wasn't great, but seeing a packed-out stadium like that, and the players you’re playing against, it’s unbelievable."

Milne arrived at Munster for his second stint ahead of the 2025/26 United Rugby Championship season, following a brief yo-yo between Limerick life and with the rival province of Leinster. The prop quickly re-settled back into life in red, and his strong domestic form had him tipped to make his Ireland debut last November throughout the Autumn Nations Series. Milne revealed how the omission only spurred him onwards and upwards into Andy Farrell's match day plans.

“Yeah, it definitely was. I was very disappointed after, but look, all you can do is get back on the horse and try and go again. I got an opportunity for this window, so hopefully I took a bit of it tonight, but there's loads of work to be done as well.”