The top half of the draw at this Rugby World Cup was always going to produce two monumental quarter-finals and, sure enough, it has come to pass. Ireland v New Zealand and France v South Africa would have been worthy semi‑finals had the tournament been constructed in a less lopsided way and the atmosphere at both heavyweight showdowns should be truly spectacular.
If France’s home fixtures are now a noisy rhapsody in blue, Ireland’s matches are something else again. As Dirty Old Town by the Pogues rolled around the stadium on Saturday night there appeared to be more Irish fans belting it out than could fit into Dublin’s Aviva Stadium. The All Blacks can expect to be surrounded by another sea of green in the least “neutral” venue imaginable. It is reaching the point where the connection between the players and the supporters is elevating the team to another level.
“When you look around and see the sea of green it’s incredibly uplifting and motivational,” said Tadhg Beirne, the Irish lock. “It gives us such a lift to know the support we have. That’s what we’re doing this for: we want to inspire everyone back home.”
A crushing 36-14 victory against Scotland has also reinforced Irish belief that something special is brewing on the field. On both sides of the ball they look as assured and clinical as any Ireland side in history, even more so than in New Zealand last year when they clinched a famous 2-1 series victory.
The All Blacks have been rediscovering their mojo, too, but, having been outmuscled by South Africa and France since late August, they are about to encounter a smart, savvy Ireland side who have won their past 17 Tests, one short of equalling the men’s tier-one world record held jointly by New Zealand and England.
If there is an obvious whiff of revenge in the air from an All Black perspective – “they have said it’s the one they want, they are hurting and they want to put it right,” noted Johnny Sexton, Ireland’s captain – there is also a sense inside the Irish camp they have the perfect head coach for this kind of assignment.
Andy Farrell, let go by England after the 2015 World Cup, played any number of huge games for Wigan and Great Britain and instinctively knows which psychological buttons need to be pressed. “He’s the best coach I’ve ever played under or met,” said Jack Conan, who toured with the British & Irish Lions in 2021. “He just gets it. He understands the game, he knows how to relay that to players, how to big us up for games and coach us in the right way.”
The All Blacks will counter that Joe Schmidt, under whom Ireland also enjoyed sustained success, is now in their corner and knows Irish rugby inside out. As Scotland were abruptly reminded, however, knowing what Ireland are going to do and stopping them are two different things.
What had been billed as a potentially thrilling contest was effectively over before half-time and Scotland’s only points materialised when they were 36-0 down and Ireland had withdrawn their frontline troops. Gregor Townsend, Scotland’s head coach, did not attempt to downplay his side’s shortcomings but suggested Ireland could be ahead of the game for the foreseeable future.
“I’d imagine they’re now the favourites for the World Cup, certainly one of the two favourites,” Townsend said. “The way Irish rugby is set up, they could dominate world rugby for the next five to 10 years. They are the No 1 team in the world, they have a pro rugby system which is very strong and they’ve got an age-group system that is very strong, so that should continue for them.”
There is a whole thesis to be written on where Scottish rugby goes from here as their rivals progress onwards and upwards. All their bullish pre-match talk served only to motivate their opponents further and their side‑to‑side gameplan proved to be meat and drink for the ravenous Irish defence.
New Zealand will have to mix up their game far more expertly, compete physically and match the prodigious work rate of players such as Caelan Doris, who made 22 tackles and was a regular breakdown nuisance. Ireland, though, do have some injury concerns with James Lowe (swollen eye), Mack Hansen (calf) and James Ryan (wrist) being assessed.
Keith Earls and Robbie Henshaw also have hamstring issues, further stretching Ireland’s backline resources. By Saturday, though, their supportive green army will be back en masse and Farrell will have his team suitably primed once more.
“I don’t think, and neither do the team, that we have played our best rugby yet,” the head coach said. Ireland may not have previously reached a World Cup semi-final but they are a totally different proposition these days.
