IN THE BUILD-up to the World Cup, Ireland travelled to Portugal for what has become a regular feature of their preparation for competition.
They’ve been visiting the Algarve since 2019 but this year was the first time they trained against the Portuguese national team, who went on to make waves in the World Cup by beating Fiji in their thrilling final pool game, their first-ever win in the tournament.
Ireland could have told you about the potential for Os Lobos to surprise a few people in France.
When they trained against them back in August, the Portuguese caused a fair few problems. As the teams started to run plays against each other, the exciting, talented Portugal team started to score try after try.
While Ireland managed to get a fair few of their own back, Andy Farrell and co. were left impressed by what the Portuguese attack could do. One suspected that the high-quality training session might be the start of something and that’s set to be the case, with the IRFU and Portuguese Rugby Federation close to finalising fixtures between Irish and Portuguese development teams next March. It’s expected that details will be announced in the coming weeks.
It remains to be seen whether the Irish team is labelled as Emerging Ireland or Ireland A for those games but it’s expected to be made up of young players who aren’t quite yet pushing for places in Andy Farrell’s senior Ireland side.
The Emerging Ireland team was brought back to life last year after a seven-year hiatus when they undertook a three-game tour to South Africa. Farrell himself didn’t travel but the rest of his senior coaching team did, with Simon Easterby leading the party.
That tour was controversial as it clashed with URC games, causing major frustration within the provinces, but Ireland were adamant it was of value to the development of the young players who travelled, including Jack Crowley and Joe McCarthy, who both ended up playing for Ireland at the World Cup.
The IRFU viewed that tour as a success and it seems unlikely to be the final trip of its type. Indeed, there have been murmurings about an Emerging Ireland tour to Italy in 2024, although it’s unclear if that will happen as well as the fixtures against the Portuguese team.
What does seem clear is that Farrell and the IRFU are keen for more of this kind of stuff.
The Ireland head coach pushed for two uncapped midweek games against the Māori All Blacks during last year’s tour of New Zealand. Those extra fixtures added stress for the coaching group alongside an important task for the Test side, but Farrell believed it would be a good test of his squad’s ability to deal with the kind of challenges a World Cup throws up, as well as allowing younger players time with the squad and out on the pitch.
Several of them impressed as the midweek team bounced back from defeat in their first game to win their second.
Farrell also pressed for the Ireland A game against the All Blacks XV in Dublin last November on the eve of his senior side’s autumn Test against South Africa. Again, that meant extra bodies at training and extra workload for the coaches. It was a tough night for many Irish players as the Kiwis hammered them 47-19, but Farrell found value in it.
So it’s no surprise that there will be more along similar lines in 2024 and beyond.
The awakening of this layer of the international game is surely a good thing. For many players, the wait from playing Ireland U20s to earning a senior Test cap is long and frustrating. Many don’t make the step at all, but it can be years before even the best underage players pull on the green jersey again.
So it makes sense to see the return of international A games, as well as the Emerging Ireland team, as long as it doesn’t cause regular strife with the provinces.
The big issue is that all of it costs money and plenty of it. Bringing together squads of players and support staff and then organising travel and accommodation can be very expensive.
The upside is that players have another stepping stone towards senior international rugby. As we’ve seen with Ireland A and Emerging Ireland, those players get to grips with the senior team’s style of play and calls earlier than would otherwise have been the case. The fact that they’re so clearly on the Test coaches’ radar probably adds to their confidence.
As things stand, it appears that the individual unions will look to arrange these games on an ad-hoc basis but it would be good to see more formal developments too. England are bringing their A team back to life after an eight-year hiatus when they play a Portuguese side in February, while other unions are also said to be keen.
How about a competition for national A teams during the Six Nations window? There would surely be enough interest to coax a few thousand people to games to offset the cost of running it. The November Test and July Test windows also seem like prime opportunities to arrange more fixtures in this layer of international rugby. If emerging nations like Portugal could be included in all of this, there would be widespread benefit.
Maybe there are already too many games but the reality is that many ambitious young Irish players would love the chance to pull on a green jersey and prove a point alongside the work they’re doing with their provinces.
