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IT’S EASY TO see why Ireland have made their trip to Portugal an annual thing. With clear blue skies and temperatures of around 15°C in the Algarve this week, it hasn’t been a bad spot for the Irish rugby media to find themselves for the first time since 2019.
 
The42 landed in with the rest of the hacks on Monday evening and we got a nice welcome at the Cheeky Pup, a bar and restaurant owned by former Leinster player Eoin O’Malley. It’s quiet around the Quinta do Lago resort at this time of year but there are clearly a fair few Irish visiting for golf, cycling, and a bit of sun on the skin.

Ireland have spent the past 12 days training out of The Campus, which you can read all about and see in this piece from back in 2019. It’s a great set-up, with Ireland block-booking the Magnolia Hotel three minutes’ drive up the road. It’s not a massive hotel but they’ve had the entire place to themselves.
 
A busy media schedule kicked off on Tuesday with player interviews and a brief look at Ireland training. It was interesting to see Andy Farrell rip up the script early on in the session . . . 

To read this analysis in full and enjoy the many benefits of The42 membership including access to the unmissable Rugby Weekly podcast with Gavan Casey, Murray Kinsella, Bernard Jackman and Eoin Toolan, click here.