Burns fully committed to Ireland

Burns fully committed to Ireland

Ulster fly-half Billy Burns has said that he harbours no conflicting emotions when it comes to representing Ireland against England this coming weekend in the Autumn Nations Cup.

Burns was born in Bath, England, but qualifies to play for Ireland through his paternal grandfather. Provincially, he boasts 101 caps for Gloucester (for whom he played between 2012 and 2018) and 38 for Ulster. He was also a member of the Junior World Cup winning England U20 outfit in 2014.

This past weekend, Burns achieved a significant milestone with his first international cap for in the Irish jersey as he filled in for the injured Johnny Sexton.

Despite his Englishness, Burns is pleased to represent Ireland.


 ‘I won’t feel conflicted at all,’ said Burns. ‘I am very much here to play for Ireland, my passion is to play for Ireland, so there will be none of that. 

'If I do get the opportunity and things go well with the return to play [protocols], I will be all about getting the win for us, it doesn’t matter whether we are playing England, New Zealand or whoever.


‘My mum and all that, they were mad for it, huge Ireland fans. My dad has always had his Ireland jersey on. 

'It will be an interesting one this weekend going against England, obviously I have a lot of friends back there, went to school back there, so we will see where their loyalties lie this weekend.’

Latest News