Anticipation is building ahead of the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan and fans across the country will be hoping to go where no other Irish team has gone before. The semi-finals.
Yep, despite appearing at all eight previous editions of the RWC, Ireland has never gotten over the quarter-final hurdle, most recently losing to Argentina at that very stage in 2015.
Since winning the Grand Slam in 2018, results have been shaky to say the least, sparking fears that head coach Joe Schmidt had his side peaking a little bit too soon ahead of the biggest tournament of them all.
However, placed in a group that certainly seems winnable, Ireland should be able to negotiate their way through to the last eight once more. There, they would likely be faced with the challenge of meeting South Africa, or potentially New Zealand, with either country sure to provide a stern test.
If you’re planning on taking in all the games, take note that they’re pretty much all early kick-offs. If you’re not heading to the Far East, you can start planning your World Cup schedule by taking note of Ireland’s fixtures below.
Sunday September 22
Ireland v Scotland 8.45am
Saturday September 28
Japan v Ireland 8.15am
Thursday October 3
Ireland v Russia 11.15am
Saturday October 12
Ireland v Samoa 11.45am
Should Ireland make it all the way, you might want to keep the weekends of October 19/20 and 26/27 free for the quarter-finals and semi-finals respectively, while the final is due to take place on Saturday November 2 at 9am.
Bring it home, lads.
