WHEN THEY SAT down on Monday after coming into camp for the upcoming November Tests, Ireland tried to put the next couple of years in perspective.

There are important milestones along the way, campaigns that Ireland will put all of their energy and focus into, but the overarching target is now the 2027 World Cup.

Head coach Andy Farrell addressed that on Monday before turning to the task directly in front of Ireland, their clash with the All Blacks in Chicago in 10 days.

“I suppose we’re two years out from the World Cup now, aren’t we?” said Ireland scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park.

“Things are starting to build towards that a little bit. But in the same breath, you’ve got to get good at falling in love with the process.

“It’s very much a ‘next game’ mindset, like we always say. But there is that little carrot down the road to look at. But there are many games to come before that.”

Of course, it’s not unusual that Ireland are looking ahead to the World Cup. 

It would be strange not to be thinking about it at this stage, even if there are lots of steps to take before that tournament in Australia.

This upcoming autumn campaign certainly feels like the right time for Farrell’s men to kick into the next chapter, with Gibson-Park revealing that they haven’t wasted any time in bringing in some new tactics and ideas ahead of the November Tests against New Zealand, Japan, Australia, and South Africa.

Gibson-Park and Ireland at Dublin Airport yesterday. Morgan Treacy / INPHO Morgan Treacy / INPHO / INPHO

“It’s something we mentioned, that two-year mark,” said Gibson-Park.

“A lot of teams have started to look towards the next World Cup. It certainly felt that way in the meeting a little bit.

“It was a bit of a refresher. We’ve already brought in some new stuff this morning that we are working on for the next couple of weeks. It’s exciting times, for sure.”

There are worries in some quarters that this could be a tough autumn campaign for Farrell’s side.

That’s partly down to so many of his key players having so little game time ahead of the Tests. Most of his big Lions contingent have played just once, while there are a couple of Ireland internationals who haven’t played at all so far this season.

Then there’s the concern that those involved on the Lions tour all the way into August might have something of a hangover this season. Gibson-Park recently said he needed a good rest after that tiring campaign in 2024/25, but he insists he’s now ready to kick on.

“I feel great, physically and mentally,” said Gibson-Park. “I thought I was in pretty good shape going out there at the weekend but I suppose we were humbled a little bit by Munster, and fair dues to them.

“But I feel pretty good. We had a great training week and I suppose the beauty now is we get to link up with the other provinces and get to work for the next couple of weeks.”

Last weekend’s outing against Munster was Gibson-Park’s first of the season and he looked rusty on his return.

He was one of many returning Lions in the Leinster side and that rust seemed to affect most of them.

But Gibson-Park reckons it might be no bad thing to have been on the end of chastening defeat.

Gibson-Park and Leinster had a tough day against Munster last weekend. Ben Brady / INPHO Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO

“It’s a bit of a reality check for us really,” he said. “A lot of us first time out, and we felt as though we prepared well, but we obviously hadn’t because they were by far the better team.”

Gibson-Park is excited by the challenge in front of Ireland in Chicago.

He has played against his native New Zealand a few times, so it won’t be a new experience for him but it still feels special.

“I absolutely love coming up against those guys. I suppose it dates back to my childhood, you guys might have been the same, the kind of brotherly rivalry or whatever. I would have had massive rivalries with my brothers growing up and this is kind of a little bit the same.

“I would have played with a lot of these guys, against a lot of these guys when I was younger, so I kind of get that feeling. It’s like the inter-pros as well. They get that same kind of feel and I absolutely love being a part of those games, so this one will be no different.”

Gibson-Park and the Leinster players know Jordie Barrett well after his stint in Ireland, although the scrum-half knows all of the Barrett brothers from his time playing with them for Taranaki.

He played with Ardie Savea at the Hurricanes and knows plenty of others in the All Blacks set-up too.

Rieko Ioane is someone who the Leinster players will be getting to know very well after the November Tests when he joins the province.

Gibson-Park, who briefly trained with him in the past in New Zealand, admitted that Ioane’s signing caused major surprise in the Leinster set-up given his recent history with Ireland.

“I actually trained with him at the Blues,” said Gibson-Park. “Funnily enough, I was probably 21 and I think he was still in school when he came and trained with us. He was that well thought of.

“But since then, I wouldn’t have much to do with him, only through playing him and whatever. But I think, like a lot of people, when the news broke, we were a little bit shocked.

“Normally, you get a bit of a whisper or something if there’s something going to go down, but this one just kind of hit us all point-blank. But, yeah, hopefully we get a run of games, so it’ll be nice to catch up with the boys after.”