Rollercoaster ride beckons ahead of another huge season for Irish rugby

As Munster retained their title by beating Leinster in the final, it whetted the appetite nicely for what’s to come in both the women’s and men’s games, across the course of what is shaping up to be another blockbuster season for Irish rugby.

Ireland women’s head coach Scott Bemand will have been keeping a very close eye on the action-packed inter-pros ahead of the inaugural WXV Global Series – a new tournament which will see the top 12 teams in the world go head-to-head in a home-and-away model within the September and October international window.

Home WXV Global Series games against USA (Tallaght) and Japan (Galway) before a Test match against Japan (Cork) will be followed by two away WXV Global Series games in South Africa.

For all that it will be a tough block for Ireland, it’s a great chance for Bemand and his players to build on a positive Six Nations campaign.

Having beaten their main rivals Scotland, Wales and Italy with relative ease during this year’s Six Nations, next season’s campaign – which will hopefully see a return to the Aviva Stadium following the success of the historic victory over Scotland at Irish Rugby HQ – is all about trying to close the gap on England and, France, in particular. In that regard, it helps that Ireland will face both of the top two teams on home soil.

It’s a similar story for Andy Farrell’s men, who face a busy conclusion to the inaugural Nations Championship in November before they turn their attention to the Six Nations, which is set to start with a bang given the tournament’s opening fixture will see Ireland face England at the Aviva Stadium on the Friday night of February 5.

The first leg of the summer’s Nations championship campaign, which included wins over the Wallabies and Japan in Australia, as well as a defeat to the All Blacks in Auckland, highlighted the work that is required to keep pace with the leading teams, as next year’s World Cup begins to loom large on the horizon.

Success in the Nations Championship will not make or break Ireland’s season, yet they have ground to make up if they want to play in the Grand Final on finals weekend, which will take place at Twickenham in late November.

Ireland will face Argentina (November 6), Fiji (November 14) and double world champions South Africa (November 21) at home to determine their seeding for the finals weekend in London.

Given what happened when they met last November, Ireland’s clash with South Africa feels especially important, as they look to right the wrongs of the scrum damage that Rassie Erasmus’ side inflicted on them during a tough defeat in Dublin.

Ireland fell just short of winning the Six Nations on a dramatic final day back in March, as Farrell’s team paid the price for a heavy opening night loss in Paris. This time around, however, France will come to Dublin on what has the potential to be another show stopping final day.

There is a lot of road left to run between now and that March 13th heavyweight clash, but every step along the way is important in terms of preparing for the 2027 World Cup, which will take place in Australia.

Ireland have been drawn in Pool D alongside Portugal (October 4th), Scotland (October 10th) and Uruguay (October 17th). The hope is that by the time Ireland return Down Under for the second year running, their recent summer experience in the southern hemisphere, as well as last year’s Lions tour in Australia, will stand to the players and coaches, as they look to break the World Cup quarter-final glass ceiling.

As ever, the provinces will be crucial in terms of enhancing Ireland’s chances of making the last four for the first time. It promises to be an interesting season on that front, with fascinating subplots set to unfold in each province.

For Leinster, big changes lie ahead, as Leo Cullen takes charge of his last campaign before stepping down as head coach. The back-to-back URC champions will aim to defend their league title, but, as ever, the north star is the Champions Cup.

The pain of last May’s final defeat to Bordeaux in Bilbao still lingers, and so, Leinster would love nothing more than to send Cullen off with another European title under his belt. Connacht and Munster are both looking to build on their second seasons with Stuart Lancaster and Clayton McMillan in charge, respectively.

The vibes are good in Connacht, with the return of the fit-again Ireland winger Mack Hansen adding to the feel-good mood around the impressively redeveloped Dexcom Stadium. There is also plenty of excitement around Ciarán Frawley’s arrival from Leinster, as the Skerries native looks to get more game-time in his preferred out-half position.

There are a couple of fresh faces in Munster’s coaching staff, as former Ireland international Jared Payne (attack) and Jimmy Duffy (forwards) have joined McMillan’s backroom team. The Kiwi boss will be hoping for big improvements this season after enduring a baptism of fire in his first campaign at the helm.

Ulster are the only one of the four provinces who will not compete in the Champions Cup, as Richie Murphy’s young side were punished for a poor finish last season, which included the Challenge Cup final loss to Montpellier. Murphy has, however, done well to turn things around at Ulster, and with Joe Schmidt now on board as the northern province’s coach development advisor, the future looks bright in Belfast.

In domestic matters, newly crowned champions, St. Mary’s College will begin their title defence with a big Dublin derby against rivals Lansdowne, as the men’s Energia men’s All-Ireland League (AIL) gets underway on September 26th.

A new two-tier women’s structure will see UL Bohemian target a fourth title on the bounce when they face Railway Union in a repeat of last season’s final on opening weekend of the women’s Energia AIL on October 10th.

The season ahead is huge for Irish rugby. Buckle up, it promises to be a rollercoaster ride.