ANDY FARRELL BROUGHT his Ireland squad together on 31 August and rolled out the 15-month plan he hopes will end up with his team competing in the World Cup final.
The Ireland head coach has never been anything but ambitious.
And though his Irish side have had some tough days in the last few seasons, Farrell believes they have the potential to go to Australia next year as contenders.
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Ireland’s World Cup year kicks off in earnest on Friday night in Dublin as Argentina visit in the Nations Championship, with Farrell keen to see his men begin to grow as a team and build what he calls “the right belief” ahead of the World Cup.
Right now, it appears that Ireland are chasing the leading nations. They lost to France in 2025 and this year. South Africa beat Ireland in Dublin in 2025. Farrell’s side are on a four-game losing streak against New Zealand.
So he sees plenty of ground to be made up and he wants improvement across every area of Ireland’s game.
“We’re a pretty good team,” said Farrell. “Recognising that to grow from a good team in the first place is pretty hard to do, but you’ve got to have ambition to do that, the hunger to do that.
“For what’s coming in 12 months’ time, if we’re honest with ourselves, where we are right now, is that good enough to board the plane believing 100% that we’ve a chance to win the World Cup? I don’t think so.
“But that excites me more than anything for what’s coming up in the next 12 months. I see a group that’s ready for the next challenge which is to ask themselves questions, where it is they want to go to, individually and collectively.
“It’s something we probably think that it’s very hard to see because we’ve got to pass a lot of people’s ceilings to do that.
“If you can’t get excited about that, then you’re in the wrong place.”
Andy Farrell at Ireland training. Ben Brady / INPHO
So Ireland want to have a successful second window in this Nations Championship, then a happy Six Nations in 2027 before they tackle the World Cup.
The Ireland head coach hopes that every step of progress Ireland take will be exciting and obvious for their fans.
“We want them to come along on the journey with us and want them to feel that they see the ambition of the team growing. More energy, fight, to show that they care about getting better, delivering intense moments and all of that.
“So, we want that to be visible. That’s up to us to do that.”
Ireland don’t have a huge amount of time to make the improvement they want to make. With four Nations Championship games, five matches in the Six Nations, and two World Cup warm-up fixtures planned, they can’t really waste a minute on the pitch.
So Farrell is pushing for a lively start to this November campaign, something Ireland have struggled to deliver at times over the last few seasons.
Argentina have never beaten Ireland in Dublin, but they won against Farrell’s Lions at the Aviva Stadium in 2025, so he knows what Felipe Contepomi’s men are capable of.
“The Lions played some good rugby that day, but it just goes to show that if you make too many errors against a side that’s got so many fantastic athletes, they’ll hit you on the break and you’ll be under your posts before you know it,” said Farrell.
“There’s a lesson in that, obviously. They’re always unbelievably hard to beat. On any given day, they can beat anyone in the world.
“They’ve proven that time and again. Felipe, I’ve got a lot of time for him, I think he’s doing a fantastic job and the coaching staff. Obviously, they’ll get a bounce from Shaun [Edwards] coming in as well.
“A few players coming back into the squad because they were rested over the season, so they’ve grown a little bit of depth and competition there as well.
“This is top-drawer side coming on Friday night.”
Argentina head coach Felipe Contepomi in Dublin. Nick Elliott / INPHO
Ireland will have an eight-day turnaround for their second game of the window against Fiji, then a week to build up for the highly anticipated visit of the world-leading Springboks.
Ireland then go into a play-off game at Twickenham in London the following weekend, so there’s a busy run of Tests ahead.
“We’ve got to manage that as well,” said Farrell of how he will use his squad over the course of the month.
“People’s minutes are a part of that process as well, what they’ve done so far this season and how we’ve seen them in training.
“We know that this is going to be an unbelievably tough start to an international season [against Argentina] but so is the week after and so is the week after and so is the week after that.
“So, it’s something that we’re mindful of because that’s the way of the world. In the Six Nations now, with the one fallow week, that’s even more taxing but that gets everyone ready really for what’s coming in 12 months with no break in the World Cup and right the way through.
“That’s a bit different for everyone. It’s the way it is and we’ve got to be better at becoming more consistent week in, week out in big games when it really matters.”
Farrell wants everyone’s pedal pushed to the floor on Friday night as Ireland launch into World Cup year.
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Farrell wants Friday to launch Ireland's bid to be World Cup contenders
ANDY FARRELL BROUGHT his Ireland squad together on 31 August and rolled out the 15-month plan he hopes will end up with his team competing in the World Cup final.
The Ireland head coach has never been anything but ambitious.
And though his Irish side have had some tough days in the last few seasons, Farrell believes they have the potential to go to Australia next year as contenders.
Ireland’s World Cup year kicks off in earnest on Friday night in Dublin as Argentina visit in the Nations Championship, with Farrell keen to see his men begin to grow as a team and build what he calls “the right belief” ahead of the World Cup.
Right now, it appears that Ireland are chasing the leading nations. They lost to France in 2025 and this year. South Africa beat Ireland in Dublin in 2025. Farrell’s side are on a four-game losing streak against New Zealand.
So he sees plenty of ground to be made up and he wants improvement across every area of Ireland’s game.
“We’re a pretty good team,” said Farrell. “Recognising that to grow from a good team in the first place is pretty hard to do, but you’ve got to have ambition to do that, the hunger to do that.
“For what’s coming in 12 months’ time, if we’re honest with ourselves, where we are right now, is that good enough to board the plane believing 100% that we’ve a chance to win the World Cup? I don’t think so.
“But that excites me more than anything for what’s coming up in the next 12 months. I see a group that’s ready for the next challenge which is to ask themselves questions, where it is they want to go to, individually and collectively.
“It’s something we probably think that it’s very hard to see because we’ve got to pass a lot of people’s ceilings to do that.
“If you can’t get excited about that, then you’re in the wrong place.”
So Ireland want to have a successful second window in this Nations Championship, then a happy Six Nations in 2027 before they tackle the World Cup.
The Ireland head coach hopes that every step of progress Ireland take will be exciting and obvious for their fans.
“We want them to come along on the journey with us and want them to feel that they see the ambition of the team growing. More energy, fight, to show that they care about getting better, delivering intense moments and all of that.
“So, we want that to be visible. That’s up to us to do that.”
Ireland don’t have a huge amount of time to make the improvement they want to make. With four Nations Championship games, five matches in the Six Nations, and two World Cup warm-up fixtures planned, they can’t really waste a minute on the pitch.
So Farrell is pushing for a lively start to this November campaign, something Ireland have struggled to deliver at times over the last few seasons.
Argentina have never beaten Ireland in Dublin, but they won against Farrell’s Lions at the Aviva Stadium in 2025, so he knows what Felipe Contepomi’s men are capable of.
“The Lions played some good rugby that day, but it just goes to show that if you make too many errors against a side that’s got so many fantastic athletes, they’ll hit you on the break and you’ll be under your posts before you know it,” said Farrell.
“There’s a lesson in that, obviously. They’re always unbelievably hard to beat. On any given day, they can beat anyone in the world.
“They’ve proven that time and again. Felipe, I’ve got a lot of time for him, I think he’s doing a fantastic job and the coaching staff. Obviously, they’ll get a bounce from Shaun [Edwards] coming in as well.
“A few players coming back into the squad because they were rested over the season, so they’ve grown a little bit of depth and competition there as well.
“This is top-drawer side coming on Friday night.”
Ireland will have an eight-day turnaround for their second game of the window against Fiji, then a week to build up for the highly anticipated visit of the world-leading Springboks.
Ireland then go into a play-off game at Twickenham in London the following weekend, so there’s a busy run of Tests ahead.
“We’ve got to manage that as well,” said Farrell of how he will use his squad over the course of the month.
“People’s minutes are a part of that process as well, what they’ve done so far this season and how we’ve seen them in training.
“We know that this is going to be an unbelievably tough start to an international season [against Argentina] but so is the week after and so is the week after and so is the week after that.
“So, it’s something that we’re mindful of because that’s the way of the world. In the Six Nations now, with the one fallow week, that’s even more taxing but that gets everyone ready really for what’s coming in 12 months with no break in the World Cup and right the way through.
“That’s a bit different for everyone. It’s the way it is and we’ve got to be better at becoming more consistent week in, week out in big games when it really matters.”
Farrell wants everyone’s pedal pushed to the floor on Friday night as Ireland launch into World Cup year.
andy farrell Argentina Ireland Thinking Big World Cup Rugby