Ireland have a tough series of Test matches against the Southern Hemisphere’s elite this November as they look to return to form following the successful 2025 Lions Tour.

Andy Farrell, who coached the Lions to a 2-1 victory over Joe Schmidt’s resurgent Australia, is back at the helm for clashes on both sides of the Atlantic.

A Chicago reunion with the All Blacks – over nine years on since that win at Soldier Field – will kick things off on Saturday, November 1st, before Ireland return home for an Aviva Stadium clash with Japan a week after

The Wallabies are then back in Dublin on November 15th, before the headline clash with Rassie Erasmus’ South Africa wraps things up the following Saturday.

It is a busy window for a squad very much beyond the heartache of the 2023 Rugby World Cup and looking ahead to their next crack in 2027.

Ireland are midway through the current World Cup cycle, and Farrell’s prepartions for that event will really kick into gear now that his Lions duties are in the past.

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There is an opportunity for Farrell to experiment here and blood some new talent with one eye on the 2027 World Cup.

Andy Farrell rubbishes fears over ageing Ireland squad

The age profile of the current Ireland squad could provide incentive, with a whole host of players due to be in the twilight of their careers when that competition comes around.

Bundee Aki, such a key presence in midfield under Farrell, will be 37, while the cohort of Jamison Gibson-Park, James Lowe, Tadhg Beirne and Jack Conan will be 35. Tadhg Furlong, Josh van der Flier and Robbie Henshaw will be close behind at 34.

That fact was put to Farrell in his appearance on the Indo Sport podcast by host Joe Molloy, a real talking point, as tends to be the case every World Cup cycle.

There is no shortage of depth coming through the Irish development system, but Farrell, who stuck with senior operators like Johnny Sexton and Peter O’Mahony in 2023, warned of the risks of drastic change

It depends on how the people who are pushing through, whether they are ready or not,” he said.

“In my experience, people who have been thrown into teams that are not ready – and if too many are thrown in and are not ready – it can have the adverse effect and damage them.

“So there is damage limitation in how you bring people through in the right teams and how you allow them to play in good teams; it is pretty important to for them to find their way and make their mistakes.”

He shared his view that age is irrelevant, stating that you are either ready when the time comes or you are not.

‘There is always someone getting too old in somebody’s eyes. There’s always someone who has got a long-term injury, lack of form, youngsters coming through – are they good enough?

“In my opinion, the age is completely irrelevant. You know?

“Players can push – it brings a massive smile to my face when I see a 16-year-old playing for Liverpool or Barcelona because if you’re ready, you are ready. But there is a point in that: you have got to be ready.”

Farrell’s comments will make good reading for a squad which went so close to that elusive semi-final place and beyond two years ago in Paris.

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