Just a year to go!<\/p>\n
We are nearly a year out from the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia, which begins on October 1.<\/p>\n
Ahead of this year’s November Series, we have had a look at the contenders to make the plane, as well as picking our own 33-man squad.<\/p>\n
We will be updating as the season progresses.<\/p>\n
Loosehead prop: <\/p>\n
Ireland’s strength in this area will rely a lot on the development and fitness of Paddy McCarthy and Jack Boyle, as well as the continued improvement of Tom O’Toole after his switch to loosehead.<\/p>\n
It is currently a relatively weak area at set-piece, but they have time to flip the script.<\/p>\n
Andrew Porter, Paddy McCarthy<\/p>\n
Jeremy Loughman, Billy Bohan, Michael Milne<\/p>\n
Hooker:<\/p>\n
The major concern at hooker has been R\u00f3nan Kelleher’s lineout work off the bench.<\/p>\n
It provides an opportunity for one of Tom Stewart or Gus McCarthy to make a play for the role of Dan Sheehan’s deputy, with Stewart leading the race.<\/p>\n
Dan Sheehan, R\u00f3nan Kelleher<\/p>\n
Tom Stewart, Gus McCarthy<\/p>\n
Tighthead prop:<\/p>\n
Tadhg Furlong remains the only ‘sure thing’, although Tom Clarkson had a big 2025\/2026 season and is not far off cementing his place on the plane to Australia.<\/p>\n
Sam Illo and Scott Wilson are talented but quite inexperienced. Nevertheless, they have been excellent provincially, and have been capped by Ireland and Ireland XV, respectively.<\/p>\n
Niall Smyth is one of the country’s most hotly-tipped prospects, and could make a play for Ireland involvement after togging out for Leinster in their pre-season games and getting picked for their South Africa tour squad.<\/p>\n
There is also the slim chance that Andrew Porter will make the switch back to tighthead, given the superior strength in depth at No 1.<\/p>\n
Tom Clarkson, Finlay Bealham<\/p>\n
Niall Smyth, Fiachna Barrett<\/p>\n
Second row:<\/p>\n
Along with the three main men, a fit Edwin Edogbo will be too good to leave at home.<\/p>\n
That should leave one space for a lock\/blindside hybrid, such as Cormac Izuchukwu or Tom Ahern.<\/p>\n
Tadhg Beirne, Joe McCarthy, James Ryan<\/p>\n
Edwin Edogbo, Darragh Murray, Cormac Izuchukwu, Iain Henderson<\/p>\n
Backrow:<\/p>\n
The men in the ‘strong contenders’ bracket have proven to be reliable stand-ins, but the emergence of one of Brian Gleeson, Byrn Ward or James McNabney as a world-class option, could be a difference maker.<\/p>\n
Ryan Baird, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris, Jack Conan<\/p>\n
Nick Timoney, Cian Prendergast, Sean Jansen<\/p>\n
Brian Gleeson, Bryan Ward, James McNabney<\/p>\n
Scrum-half:<\/p>\n
Craig Casey may lose his place as back-up to JGP, but it his highly unlikely he won’t travel to Australia.<\/p>\n
Nathan Doak made big ground last season, earning his Ireland debut, although his Ulster teammate, Matthew Devine, is seen by many as the most talented option.<\/p>\n
Jamison Gibson-Park, Craig Casey<\/p>\n
Caolin Blade, Fintan Gunne, Ben Murphy, Matthew Devine<\/p>\n
Out-half: <\/p>\n
Ciar\u00e1n Frawley is in the driving seat to go as third choice, given his versatility, and his move to Connacht, where he will be the first-choice 10.<\/p>\n
Casper Gabriel has a genuine chance at usurping Harry Byrne as Leinster’s back-up, while Ulster’s new signing, Jamie Benson, has already been at an Ireland training camp – showing clear intent from management.<\/p>\n
Joey Carbery’s return will be fascinating, but he may be played more at fullback for his province.<\/p>\n
Sam Prendergast, Jack Crowley<\/p>\n
Ciar\u00e1n Frawley, Harry Byrne<\/p>\n
Jack Murphy, Joey Carbery<\/p>\n
Casper Gabriel, Jamie Benson<\/p>\n
Centre:<\/p>\n
Given their age and the competition for places, stalwarts Bundee Aki and Robbie Henshaw can no longer be seen as absolute certainties.<\/p>\n
Hopefully one of the younger options will have a breakthrough year with Ireland, but it is looking increasingly unlikely.<\/p>\n
Garry Ringrose, Stuart McCloskey, Jamie Osborne<\/p>\n
Bundee Aki, Robbie Henshaw<\/p>\n
Jude Postlethwaite, Tom Farrell, Dan Kelly, James Hume<\/p>\n
Back three: <\/p>\n
With four men seemingly on the plane, there is at most two places up for grabs.<\/p>\n
Jimmy O’Brien and Jacob Stockdale have the experience, but Shayne Bolton and Zac Ward have a rare combination of size, speed and form.<\/p>\n
Robert Baloucoune, Mack Hansen, Tommy O’Brien, Hugo Keenan<\/p>\n
Jimmy O’Brien, Jacob Stockdale<\/p>\n
Calvin Nash, Shayne Bolton, Zac Ward, JJ Kenny, Jordan Larmour<\/p>\n
Diarmuid Kilgallen, Finn Treacy<\/p>\n
SportsJOE’s 2027 Ireland World Cup squad<\/p>\n
Props: Andrew Porter, Paddy McCarthy, Tom O’Toole, Tadhg Furlong, Tom Clarkson, Niall Smyth<\/p>\n
Hooker: Dan Sheehan, R\u00f3nan Kelleher, Tom Stewart<\/p>\n
Second row: Tadhg Beirne, Joe McCarthy, James Ryan, Edwin Edogbo, Cormac Izuchukwu<\/p>\n
Back row: Ryan Baird, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris, Jack Conan, Brian Gleeson<\/p>\n
Scrum-half: Jamison Gibson-Park, Nathan Doak, Craig Casey<\/p>\n
Out-half: Sam Prendergast, Jack Crowley, Ciar\u00e1n Frawley<\/p>\n
Centre: Stuart McCloskey, Bundee Aki, Jamie Osborne, Garry Ringrose<\/p>\n
Back three: Mack Hansen, Robert Baloucoune, Zac Ward, Hugo Keenan<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Just a year to go! We are nearly a year out from the 2027 Rugby World Cup in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":631500,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[61,60,43],"class_list":["post-631499","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/631499","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=631499"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/631499\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/631500"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=631499"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=631499"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=631499"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}