Ireland must look after ‘own side of things’ at World Cup – Farrell

According to reports that Ireland will receive a favorable draw for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, head coach Andy Farrell would not be drawn.

In Pool D of the expanded 24-team competition in Australia, Ireland squared off against Scotland, Uruguay, and Portugal.

If Ireland tops the pool, it’s likely that they’ll be in the draw with France, New Zealand, and South Africa, but Farrell wasn’t getting too excited when he drew comparisons to Wednesday’s draw.

We know that a World Cup always throws up these kinds of things, which is why we love it so much, he said, “but you can try to second-guess it and think all different permutations are going to work out in a certain way.”

“I suppose you’re always considering the possible side of the draw,” he said, “but things could possibly turn out a little differently if you don’t prioritize your own side of things.”

Ireland have lost all eight of their quarter-final matches, but they have never advanced to the World Cup semi-finals.

Ireland suffered a heartbreaking, last-eight defeat by the All Blacks in Paris in Farrell’s first World Cup campaign as manager two years ago.

Farrell says he is focused on making sure his entire squad believes they can win the sport’s most prized prize, despite the fact that Ireland are coming off a mixed autumn campaign that saw defeats suffered from New Zealand and South Africa.

The Englishman added, “I back myself and the rest of the coaches and the players to go as far as we’d all hope.”

What’s the point if we all have the goal of winning the World Cup? Everyone else should feel the same way, I hope.

After defeating Gregor Townsend’s men in 2019 and 2023, Ireland will prepare for a second World Cup encounter with Scottish rivals.

When the Irish met in Lisbon in July, they defeated Portugal 106-7 to win the first Test match of the year.

“That’s a great fixture because Scotland have done well in the last couple of tournaments,” added Farrell.

We are well-known and will be doing so in the future. However, Portugal and Uruguay are slightly different. We’ve followed Portugal’s journey because we’ve only ever played one game and I’ve actually tried to play against them a few times.

Uruguay is “somewhat unique. Overall, I had a lot of fun. As in, standing up makes me feel goosebumps, I suppose. That is why it should be done.

Farrell continued, “Every time we play Scotland, we have always had a lot of respect for them as an unbelievably dangerous, world-class side,” adding that this was an expansion on the rivalry with Ireland, which they have defeated 11 times in a row.

You can see why you feel like that after working with many of their players over the summer with the British and Irish Lions.