Japan 2019.

Joe Schmidt is no doubt fully focused at the moment on this weekend’s mammoth Grand Slam clash with England at Twickenham. But he may find himself looking back on some tapes from the Rugby Europe Championship next week.

15,800 people attended Spain vs Germany a couple of weeks back in the competition for tier two sides, with the Spanish smashing their German counterparts 84-10. The win now means they are just one game away from reaching next year’s Rugby World Cup.

Should they manage to beat Belgium this weekend, they will earn a spot in rugby’s showpiece event, and will become a part of Pool A alongside Ireland, Japan and Scotland. This scenario would then see either Romania or Portugal take on Samoa in a two-legged play-off for the final spot in the Pool.

Ireland’s 2019 Rugby World Cup fixtures

Ireland vs Scotland, 8:45am September 22nd – International Stadium, Yokohama
Ireland vs Japan, 8:15am September 28th – Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa
Ireland vs Europe 1 (Spain?), 11:15am October 3rd – Kobe Misaki Stadium
Ireland vs Play-off winner, 11:45am October 12th, Hakatanomori Football Stadium