Potential Scotland switch for John Cooney 'doesn't sit well' with Stephen Ferris

Stephen Ferris says he would turn down any approach from Scotland if he were in John Cooney's shoes and that the situation does not sit well with him.

Ulster scrum-half Cooney has been capped 11 times by Ireland, with the last of those appearances coming during the 2020 Guinness Six Nations.

Speaking ahead of this year's edition of the tournament, Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend said he had spoken to the 32-year-old Dubliner about switching allegiances to his father's native country.

He is eligible to represent Scotland after 23 February when his three-year stand down period elapses and, if he switches and is selected, could feature for the Scots in the latter half of the Six Nations.

Townsend has said that Cooney is "keen" on becoming a Scotland player but speaking on RTÉ 2fm's Game On, former Ireland and Ulster flanker Ferris expressed his view that he would not want to switch allegiances to another nation.

"I've interviewed John, I've been chatting to him pre and post-games about moving to Scotland and he always gives you a very, very vague answer and obviously talks about somebody directly in the family who is born and bred Scottish," he said.

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"And he talked about people don't understand when you have an allegiance to two countries. But if I was in his shoes and I played for Ireland, I wouldn't want to be playing for any other team.

"I think if you ask the vast, vast majority of footballers, hockey players, rugby players, whatever it may be, if you play for your country but