Just over a year from now, the eighth Rugby World Cup will kick off at Twickenham Stadium. The entire rugby world will converge on England and Wales to celebrate the hooligans’ game, played by gentlemen. The Irish side, who have never had much success on the world’s greatest stage, will be entering the tournament with a cautious amount of confidence.
Ireland can now look back on the 2013/14 season with quite a lot of optimism. The three Autumn internationals in Dublin weren’t a great start, though. Ireland smacked the Samoans 40-9, then were subject to the same treatment by Australia, who beat them 32-15. Those matches were followed by a test against the All Blacks, which will go down as one of the most exciting games of the season – much to the dismay of the Irish fans. The lads in green followed this heartbreaking defeat with a very impressive performance at the Six Nations, winning five of six – seeing off a very strong Welsh side in the process. Now, Ireland have returned from their summer tour of Argentina, which featured two decently convincing victories over Los Pumas.
Now, coach Joe Schmidt has to have the approaching World Cup in the back of his mind at all times. Ireland have at least eight games left to prepare over the coming months: this November’s home tests against touring Southern Hemisphere teams, and the 2015 Six Nations, where they’ll try to defend the title.
Replacing Brian O’Driscoll
There are some huge questions that will have to be answered during that time. Of course, the most pressing of said questions is that of who will be Brian O’Driscoll’s replacement in the number 13 shirt? Obviously there’s no way to properly replicate the magic of O’Driscoll, one of the greatest centres of all time. However, Schmidt can’t just play 14 men, so someone is going to have to play there.
Fergus McFadden has been tried at 13, playing there alongside Darren Cave in the second Argentina test. He also could potentially have chemistry with Gordon D’Arcy (BOD’s former companion), having played alongside him at Leinster this year. However, he seems more like a temporary solution than a long-term option. Keith Earls could also be slotted in, and likely will be alongside D’Arcy at some point during the Six Nations. D’Arcy is nearly the same age as O’Driscoll, though, so Cave will probably be wearing the 12 jersey in the future.
Luke Marshall, Jared Payne and Luke Fitzgerald are all probably in the running as well. Marshall’s health is a concern, however, with a series of concussions recently. Payne has yet to wear the Irish shirt; he will qualify for the team on residency this coming Autumn. Many fans are quite excited to see what he can do, after some strong performances at Ulster, despite some worrying deficiencies in his defensive game. Finally, Fitzgerald, who has a Lions cap, has played with both D’Arcy and O’Driscoll at Leinster, and has been touted by the team’s manager Guy Easterby as the best option for Ireland’s number 13 jersey.
It remains to be seen who Schmidt will go with, as a clear-cut successor still has not emerged. But then, how could they possibly replace the best centre ever?
How Far Can Ireland Go at RWC15?
If Ireland can defend the Six Nations title in 2015 (or at least perform well in the tournament), then they should be entering the World Cup fairly confident. The Irish have been drawn into a relatively strong pool, with France, Italy, Canada and Romania. Obviously, that’s nothing compared to the ridiculously tough Pool A, which features Australia, Wales, England and Fiji, but still, those opponents are nothing to sniff at.
The Romania and Canada matches should both be convincing Irish victories (although the Canadians, despite a disappointing summer, are quite a good up-and-coming rugby nation). Italy will be no walkover, but are perennially the weakest team at the Six Nations. They’d be quite content with upsetting either France or Ireland and advancing to the knockout stage. Finally, the French. France are always a curious beast when it comes to tests against Ireland. The tie in the final round of this year’s Six Nations was one of the best (and closest) games of the tournament, with France almost managing to crush Irish dreams in the dying minutes. This match really could go either way, depending on the form of both teams entering the World Cup.
If Ireland can top Pool D, they’ll likely play Argentina in the quarter-final (assuming New Zealand tops Pool C). That’s quite a preferable matchup for Joe Schmidt and the boys in green, seeing how they saw off the Argentines this month. That would present, possibly, a good chance for Ireland to advance past the quarter finals for the first time ever.
Beyond that, who knows who Ireland could beat? They’ve shown that they are capable of beating any other Northern Hemisphere team. Wales appear to have regressed slightly after a dominant 2013, and it’s uncertain how well the young (but very talented) England can do. However, can Ireland keep up with the big three of Southern Hemisphere rugby (Australia, South Africa and New Zealand)? They were right with the All Blacks for 79 minutes this year, before tragedy struck. They’ll have a chance to measure their strength against both the Wallabies and the Springboks this November, as well.
Most critics would be quick to dismiss any Northern country against New Zealand or South Africa. They wouldn’t be out of order in doing so, either. However, if Ireland can build on a strong 2013/14 season, there could be a few surprises in store for England 2015.
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