Declan Rice in fresh England v Ireland storm as he's forced to apologise for 'Up the Ra' comments after swapping nations By James Dutton For Mailonline Published: 16:06 GMT, 21 March 2019 | Updated: 16:14 GMT, 21 March 2019 Viewcomments West Ham midfielder Declan Rice has been forced to apologise for posting 'Up the Ra' in social media posts dating back to 2015. Rice, who has deleted the comments, said: 'I am aware that a poorly-expressed comment I made when I was a junior player has been circulated on social media. 'I recognise now that my attempt to show support for my team-mates at the time could be negatively interpreted. Declan Rice has apologised for posting 'Up the Ra' in social media posts dating back to 2015 Rice won three caps for the Republic of Ireland but has now committed his future to England 'While my naive words were not meant to be a political opinion and do not represent who I am, I sincerely apologise for any offence caused.' He wrote on Instagram over three years ago, 'my brudda UP THE RA Wait Till We Draw England' in reply to a post from Manchester City U23 defender, and Ireland youth international Tyreke Wilson. Wilson had posted: 'Happy to receive man of the match today against Sweden. Unbelievable 12 days with all the boys! 'Wouldn't change anything about it. Everyone doubting us saying we wouldn't qualify. And we ended up topping the group,only conceding one goal. He has posted an apology claiming that his past comments 'do not represent who I am' 'Brilliant results now look forward to the elite stages . Love Ireland . Proud of where I'm from #EIRE.' Rice, whose grandparents hailed from Cork, said this week: 'As you can hear, I am English. I am from England. 'It was really good playing for Ireland. Now I'm just really looking forward to the future and pulling on the England shirt. 'I've just got to look forward and forget about the past.' The 20-year-old is set to make his senior debut for England against Czech Republic on Friday night. Share or comment on this article: All rights reserved for this news site dailymail and under his responsibility