The 23-year-old, who came off the bench for around ten minutes in Ireland’s win over Italy (20-13) on Saturday, was targeted with “racist and cowardly abuse” on social media, leading the union to disable comments under certain posts and to refer the matter to the relevant authorities.
“We are aware of targeted online attacks in recent days and continue to work with Signify and the relevant authorities in order to report them“, the IRFU said in a statement, noting that it applies a policy of “zero tolerance towards racism in all its forms“.
The body is working in particular with that company, which specialises in tackling online abuse, in order to identify the authors of the messages and to bring any possible proceedings. The union did not specify the number of offending messages or where they came from, but firmly condemned the behaviour, deemed incompatible with the values of rugby.
“He is always around. You would often find him in the gym on Saturday morning, happy out and putting in the work.”
— Munster Rugby (@Munsterrugby) February 14, 2026
It has been a remarkable rise from @CobhPiratesRFC to the 6 Nations for Edwin Edogbo but he has never strayed far from his roots.
Read more about his journey:… pic.twitter.com/kte14z282t
Born and raised in County Cork, in the south of Ireland, to Nigerian parents, Edogbo plays for Munster and is one of the bright young hopes of Irish rugby. His first cap, won this weekend against Italy, marked an important step in his progress at the highest level.
Rugby, sadly, like other sports, is still confronted with cases of racism, particularly on social media, where unions and sporting bodies are trying to strengthen their monitoring and sanctioning systems.
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