So it’s course set for Australia for 2027 after the draw was done this morning in Australia. The draw saw 24 teams enter the hat. Ireland have been drawn in Pool D and will face Scotland, Portugal and Uruguay in Pool play to see who will advance to a newly introduced round of 16.
It will be the third consecutive Rugby World Cup where Scotland will play Ireland having faced them in Japan in 2019 and in France in 2023. The path to make it to the final has been lined out for all 24 sides.
Ireland of course have an extremely poor record at World Cups, having failed to win a quarter final being beaten every time and of course famously in 1991, it took Michael Lynagh’s late intervention to deny Ireland a possible semi-final in Dublin after Gordan Hamilton has scampered clear to score a famous try.
Ireland will have two Six Nations to play in the next two years and will want performances to start going in the right direction over the next while. They are certainly a team that will go through a number of personal changes as father time is waiting for a few more senior members of the Irish squad.
Over the next few years, Andy Farrell will have to spread the net out and bring in some more fresh blood. We have had many A games since he took over and 2 tours of South Africa under the Emerging Ireland banner. It’s time for those players to be given more game time in green.
Ulster in particular have been going well so far this year and a few of those players will be pushing hard for inclusion in the 2026 6 Nations squad. Munster, Connacht and Leinster have also begun to kick on in the early part of this campaign and with Europe kicking off this weekend, it will be two rounds to again show Andy Farrell and his coaches of new and fresh options for the green jersey.
Ireland will be trying in 2027 to get the unwanted monkey off the back once again but for now the talk of 2027 will have to wait as the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup loom large on the horizon beginning on Friday night……