YESTERDAY’S IRELAND PRESS conference at the Aviva Stadium was a bit of weird one. Part look ahead to the 2027 World Cup, part look back at the November series just gone, arriving on the week the provinces are busy preparing for the start of new Champions/Challenge Cup seasons.
Caelan Doris, who joined Andy Farrell to field some questions following the morning’s pool stage draw for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, has been firmly in Leinster mode this week ahead of their Champions Cup meeting with Harlequins on Saturday. With that in mind it’s perhaps difficult to peel away from your club and put some sense on what lies ahead with your country in two years’ time.
Players famously like to keep their thinking more short-term, but Andy Farrell and his coaching team are already plotting away toward Australia 2027 in the background.
Between watching yesterday morning’s draw and meeting the press in the afternoon, Farrell had been part of a two-hour meeting focused around that tournament. There is, after all, just around 20 Test games between Ireland’s Six Nations start against France in February 2026 and their 2027 World Cup opener against one of Scotland, Uruguay and Portugal.
“It’s not a long time at all and we need to use all that wisely, that’s for sure,” Farrell said. “There’s all sorts of plans going on in the background to try and give opportunities to the people that we want to give them to.”
So expect to see Ireland A games and Emerging Ireland tours get added to the schedule over the next couple of seasons as Farrell looks to widen his net. For the core Ireland group who featured in the November internationals, the immediate focus will be finding sharper form come a testing Six Nations, which sees Ireland travel to play France and England.
Farrell was speaking to the media in Dublin yesterday. Nick Elliott / INPHO
Nick Elliott / INPHO / INPHO
It would be a shock if that Six Nations squad looks drastically different to the one that stuttered through November, but over the next two years there will be some tweaks to the playing group as new faces push into the squad, or graduate from the fringes to the first team. Farrell says there could be changes around the coaching staff too. Yesterday the Ireland boss was asked if the current make-up of his coaching team is “locked in” for 2027, or if there is scope to add new input, such as a referee in an advisory role, à la the Springboks and France.
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“Nothing is locked in, no,” Farrell said. “Nothing is locked in. There’s all sorts of reviews that we’ve been having over the last couple of weeks and we’re always open-minded to do the right thing by the squad.”
His squad looks like it needs a lift after a challenging 2025, during which Ireland lost at home to France and South Africa in Dublin, and away to New Zealand in Chicago. Whatever about a World Cup two years down the line, Ireland need to be better if they’re to challenge for a Six Nations in a couple of months. Those short-term fixes will be aligned with the longer-term vision.
“I suppose the bigger picture stuff is the main thing for me, like we’ve talked about all autumn,” Farrell said.
“It’s just a fact isn’t it, that things do change and people and personnel do move on, and there’s a different feeling within a group.
“We recognise a lot of what those feelings are and what they should be and like every stage of any team’s cycle you want to look at, you’re always trying to work through different situations and our situation is a good one because in a sense all I can see is people getting strong and becoming bigger characters within that group and over the next two years we can continue to improve, and surely that has got to be the goal.”
Dori Nick Elliott / INPHO
Nick Elliott / INPHO / INPHO
That ‘different feeling’ was something Johnny Sexton touched on during a press event last week. Over the last couple of seasons this Ireland team has shed a lot of experience in the shape of Sexton, Peter O’Mahony, Conor Murray, Keith Earls and Cian Healy. As Sexton put it, the knock-on effect is that players like Caelan Doris and Dan Sheehan now find more being asked of them.
“It’s just fact, isn’t it, and it’s just part of life that that’s where we find ourselves. That’s good because then you’re asking others to fill that space but fill it in a way that their team’s going to be propelled forward,” Farrell continued.
“We’re not trying to do the same as what we did two years ago, we’re trying to be better than that… These things, experiences, take a little bit of time for people to understand, ‘OK I know how to deal with the pressures of international rugby, how do I become a better leader within that? How do I help the team get better?’ It’s part of everyone’s growth.
“I mean, this guy (Doris) has been through it more than most. Asking him his story of when he first started in international rugby to where he is now, it’s chalk and cheese.
“You have to go through that to understand what it’s going to take to propel the team forward.”
Doris acknowledges more is needed if Ireland are to attack the 2027 World Cup in the same confident, swaggering shape they did the 2023 tournament. They have two years to close that gap.
“A lot of improvement, definitely, across all areas really,” Doris said.
“If you look at the four gamesI don’t think there was one area that was consistently amazing. The breakdown maybe. But there’s growth across all areas which is exciting really, a lot of that is individuals.
There’s massive belief in the plans we have, what we’re doing and what we can do. I’m looking at myself, I’d a good chat with Paulie (O’Connell) earlier in the week around some of the things I need to work on personally.
“Some of the penalties I gave away, that’s not the standard we hold ourselves to. Some of the tackle technique stuff, there’s so many areas from an individual perspective as well. But I believe we have a group with the mindset to improve and to chase down the potential individually.
“That’s only going to add to the collective.”
On a more short-term note, Farrell revealed the injury which threatens Mack Hansen’s Six Nations could keep him sidelined for longer than hoped. The Connacht player underwent surgery on a troublesome foot injury earlier this week.
“I don’t have the full scope on that, I think it’s longer than we’d have hoped for. Anyway, we’ll see how the first couple of weeks are dealt with and that’ll become clearer. (But) Definitely a full recovery.”
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Ireland's plans for 2027 World Cup already taking shape
YESTERDAY’S IRELAND PRESS conference at the Aviva Stadium was a bit of weird one. Part look ahead to the 2027 World Cup, part look back at the November series just gone, arriving on the week the provinces are busy preparing for the start of new Champions/Challenge Cup seasons.
Caelan Doris, who joined Andy Farrell to field some questions following the morning’s pool stage draw for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, has been firmly in Leinster mode this week ahead of their Champions Cup meeting with Harlequins on Saturday. With that in mind it’s perhaps difficult to peel away from your club and put some sense on what lies ahead with your country in two years’ time.
Players famously like to keep their thinking more short-term, but Andy Farrell and his coaching team are already plotting away toward Australia 2027 in the background.
Between watching yesterday morning’s draw and meeting the press in the afternoon, Farrell had been part of a two-hour meeting focused around that tournament. There is, after all, just around 20 Test games between Ireland’s Six Nations start against France in February 2026 and their 2027 World Cup opener against one of Scotland, Uruguay and Portugal.
“It’s not a long time at all and we need to use all that wisely, that’s for sure,” Farrell said. “There’s all sorts of plans going on in the background to try and give opportunities to the people that we want to give them to.”
So expect to see Ireland A games and Emerging Ireland tours get added to the schedule over the next couple of seasons as Farrell looks to widen his net. For the core Ireland group who featured in the November internationals, the immediate focus will be finding sharper form come a testing Six Nations, which sees Ireland travel to play France and England.
It would be a shock if that Six Nations squad looks drastically different to the one that stuttered through November, but over the next two years there will be some tweaks to the playing group as new faces push into the squad, or graduate from the fringes to the first team. Farrell says there could be changes around the coaching staff too. Yesterday the Ireland boss was asked if the current make-up of his coaching team is “locked in” for 2027, or if there is scope to add new input, such as a referee in an advisory role, à la the Springboks and France.
“Nothing is locked in, no,” Farrell said. “Nothing is locked in. There’s all sorts of reviews that we’ve been having over the last couple of weeks and we’re always open-minded to do the right thing by the squad.”
His squad looks like it needs a lift after a challenging 2025, during which Ireland lost at home to France and South Africa in Dublin, and away to New Zealand in Chicago. Whatever about a World Cup two years down the line, Ireland need to be better if they’re to challenge for a Six Nations in a couple of months. Those short-term fixes will be aligned with the longer-term vision.
“I suppose the bigger picture stuff is the main thing for me, like we’ve talked about all autumn,” Farrell said.
“It’s just a fact isn’t it, that things do change and people and personnel do move on, and there’s a different feeling within a group.
“We recognise a lot of what those feelings are and what they should be and like every stage of any team’s cycle you want to look at, you’re always trying to work through different situations and our situation is a good one because in a sense all I can see is people getting strong and becoming bigger characters within that group and over the next two years we can continue to improve, and surely that has got to be the goal.”
That ‘different feeling’ was something Johnny Sexton touched on during a press event last week. Over the last couple of seasons this Ireland team has shed a lot of experience in the shape of Sexton, Peter O’Mahony, Conor Murray, Keith Earls and Cian Healy. As Sexton put it, the knock-on effect is that players like Caelan Doris and Dan Sheehan now find more being asked of them.
“It’s just fact, isn’t it, and it’s just part of life that that’s where we find ourselves. That’s good because then you’re asking others to fill that space but fill it in a way that their team’s going to be propelled forward,” Farrell continued.
“We’re not trying to do the same as what we did two years ago, we’re trying to be better than that… These things, experiences, take a little bit of time for people to understand, ‘OK I know how to deal with the pressures of international rugby, how do I become a better leader within that? How do I help the team get better?’ It’s part of everyone’s growth.
“I mean, this guy (Doris) has been through it more than most. Asking him his story of when he first started in international rugby to where he is now, it’s chalk and cheese.
“You have to go through that to understand what it’s going to take to propel the team forward.”
Doris acknowledges more is needed if Ireland are to attack the 2027 World Cup in the same confident, swaggering shape they did the 2023 tournament. They have two years to close that gap.
“A lot of improvement, definitely, across all areas really,” Doris said.
“If you look at the four gamesI don’t think there was one area that was consistently amazing. The breakdown maybe. But there’s growth across all areas which is exciting really, a lot of that is individuals.
“Some of the penalties I gave away, that’s not the standard we hold ourselves to. Some of the tackle technique stuff, there’s so many areas from an individual perspective as well. But I believe we have a group with the mindset to improve and to chase down the potential individually.
“That’s only going to add to the collective.”
On a more short-term note, Farrell revealed the injury which threatens Mack Hansen’s Six Nations could keep him sidelined for longer than hoped. The Connacht player underwent surgery on a troublesome foot injury earlier this week.
“I don’t have the full scope on that, I think it’s longer than we’d have hoped for. Anyway, we’ll see how the first couple of weeks are dealt with and that’ll become clearer. (But) Definitely a full recovery.”
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