WHILE THERE ARE a lot of games to be played between now and then, Leinster lock Joe McCarthy has admitted the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia is in the back of his mind.
Then just 22 years of age, McCarthy was the youngest player in an Ireland squad of 33 that travelled over to France for their most recent RWC appearance in 2023. He had just three senior international caps to his name by that point, but he increased his tally over the course of the tournament with outings against Romania (a pool-stage win) and New Zealand (quarter-final defeat).
Fast forward a little under three years, he has now accumulated 26 Ireland senior caps and is expected – injury and form permitting – to be a regular presence for his nation when their latest bid to reach at least the last four of the World Cup begins in the southern hemisphere next October.
The former Blackrock College student has strong aspirations for next year’s tournament and with some big fixtures coming up for both province and country, he is hoping to put himself on a sound footing.
“It definitely would be [on your mind]. We’ve a lot of big games coming up now which should prepare us well. We (Leinster) have got Cardiff this weekend, Clermont, Munster, and then into internationals. It is in the back of your mind,” McCarthy explained at a briefing in Leinster Rugby HQ on Monday.
“This pre-season, you think ‘I want to be in really good nick for this season’; to set me up well, to perform well so I’m hitting good form, hopefully, by the World Cup, but it’s a long time away. A lot of work to do.”
Advertisement
Joe McCarthy in action for Ireland against New Zealand. Billy Stickland / INPHO
Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO
The Cardiff game McCarthy referenced takes place this coming Saturday in the United Rugby Championship and sees Leinster returning to the RDS Arena (now known as the Laya Arena) for a first competitive outing in more than two years.
Before enjoying a recent test run there in the form of a pre-season friendly encounter with Zebre, the eastern province’s most recent appearance in the RDS was for a Round 18 URC showdown against Connacht on 31 May, 2024.
Owing to extensive redevelopment of the above venue, Leinster have used the Aviva Stadium for the majority of their home games across the URC and the European Champions Cup in the past two seasons.
While Leinster will return to Irish Rugby HQ for a league clash with arch rivals Munster on 24 October, their presence at Lansdowne Road is set to become far more sporadic.
Whereas the arrival of Munster to south Dublin is set to draw a significant crowd, the 51,711-seater Aviva was sometimes less than a third full for Leinster games in recent seasons. This often led to an underwhelming atmosphere, but with the revamped Laya Arena now capable of hosting up to 20,600 spectators, McCarthy is excited about returning to a ground that appears to be a perfect fit for URC games such as this weekend.
“I think it’s much better. The Aviva would probably feel a bit empty. Lads are really buzzed about getting back into the Laya Arena.
“You want to put on a proper show for the fans because you want it to be a special night. You want to entertain fans, you obviously want to win and play well. We definitely want to put on a good show that fans are happy and proud to show up and watch.”
Joe McCarthy speaking with a Leinster fan in September. Grace Halton / INPHO
Grace Halton / INPHO / INPHO
Whereas those who had played in the Round 2 URC defeat to the Sharks in Durban last Saturday were only just flying back home, McCarthy and a number of others had returned early from Leinster’s recent mini tour of South Africa to take part in training on Monday.
Despite not featuring in either of their games against the Lions or the Sharks (his most recent competitive appearance was in Ireland’s Nations Championship loss to New Zealand on 18 July), McCarthy and a number of those who didn’t see action over the past fortnight were kept busy during their brief time overseas.
“We were able to help the lads prep well. The coaches sort of used it as the non-playing group, so a lot of internationals. We had to analyse the Lions and the Sharks, do a presentation back to the players and coaches. Kind of like a player-coach role, I suppose,” McCarthy added.
“We had to make a few presentations about that, but then it was good from our perspective because we did the team training with them and we were still in pre-season. We did a bit of extra fitness and conditioning, which we definitely found a lot tougher, but it was definitely very beneficial. It was good craic off the field as well.”
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Close
Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic.
Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy
here
before taking part.
'We had to analyse the Lions and the Sharks, do a presentation back to the players and coaches'
WHILE THERE ARE a lot of games to be played between now and then, Leinster lock Joe McCarthy has admitted the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia is in the back of his mind.
Then just 22 years of age, McCarthy was the youngest player in an Ireland squad of 33 that travelled over to France for their most recent RWC appearance in 2023. He had just three senior international caps to his name by that point, but he increased his tally over the course of the tournament with outings against Romania (a pool-stage win) and New Zealand (quarter-final defeat).
Fast forward a little under three years, he has now accumulated 26 Ireland senior caps and is expected – injury and form permitting – to be a regular presence for his nation when their latest bid to reach at least the last four of the World Cup begins in the southern hemisphere next October.
The former Blackrock College student has strong aspirations for next year’s tournament and with some big fixtures coming up for both province and country, he is hoping to put himself on a sound footing.
“It definitely would be [on your mind]. We’ve a lot of big games coming up now which should prepare us well. We (Leinster) have got Cardiff this weekend, Clermont, Munster, and then into internationals. It is in the back of your mind,” McCarthy explained at a briefing in Leinster Rugby HQ on Monday.
“This pre-season, you think ‘I want to be in really good nick for this season’; to set me up well, to perform well so I’m hitting good form, hopefully, by the World Cup, but it’s a long time away. A lot of work to do.”
The Cardiff game McCarthy referenced takes place this coming Saturday in the United Rugby Championship and sees Leinster returning to the RDS Arena (now known as the Laya Arena) for a first competitive outing in more than two years.
Before enjoying a recent test run there in the form of a pre-season friendly encounter with Zebre, the eastern province’s most recent appearance in the RDS was for a Round 18 URC showdown against Connacht on 31 May, 2024.
Owing to extensive redevelopment of the above venue, Leinster have used the Aviva Stadium for the majority of their home games across the URC and the European Champions Cup in the past two seasons.
While Leinster will return to Irish Rugby HQ for a league clash with arch rivals Munster on 24 October, their presence at Lansdowne Road is set to become far more sporadic.
Whereas the arrival of Munster to south Dublin is set to draw a significant crowd, the 51,711-seater Aviva was sometimes less than a third full for Leinster games in recent seasons. This often led to an underwhelming atmosphere, but with the revamped Laya Arena now capable of hosting up to 20,600 spectators, McCarthy is excited about returning to a ground that appears to be a perfect fit for URC games such as this weekend.
“I think it’s much better. The Aviva would probably feel a bit empty. Lads are really buzzed about getting back into the Laya Arena.
“You want to put on a proper show for the fans because you want it to be a special night. You want to entertain fans, you obviously want to win and play well. We definitely want to put on a good show that fans are happy and proud to show up and watch.”
Whereas those who had played in the Round 2 URC defeat to the Sharks in Durban last Saturday were only just flying back home, McCarthy and a number of others had returned early from Leinster’s recent mini tour of South Africa to take part in training on Monday.
Despite not featuring in either of their games against the Lions or the Sharks (his most recent competitive appearance was in Ireland’s Nations Championship loss to New Zealand on 18 July), McCarthy and a number of those who didn’t see action over the past fortnight were kept busy during their brief time overseas.
“We were able to help the lads prep well. The coaches sort of used it as the non-playing group, so a lot of internationals. We had to analyse the Lions and the Sharks, do a presentation back to the players and coaches. Kind of like a player-coach role, I suppose,” McCarthy added.
“We had to make a few presentations about that, but then it was good from our perspective because we did the team training with them and we were still in pre-season. We did a bit of extra fitness and conditioning, which we definitely found a lot tougher, but it was definitely very beneficial. It was good craic off the field as well.”
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
big joe mccarthy Joe McCarthy Rugby