Upsets.

Irish rugby has seen some dizzying highs and lows already in 2024. With recent upsets in the sport, Ireland will have to step carefully in order to maintain their reputation as one of the best teams in the world.

With the recent upset, what can they do next?

Ireland’s World Cup Defeat

Before the World Cup, many Ireland fans were convinced that they were going to be the odds and finally win the title, with betting sites like Scs suggesting that they were the favourites. This was despite the fact they had a series of poor performances in the Six Nations preceding the event.

The team were up against the All Blacks in the quarter finals last yeah, and this has long been seen as the point were Ireland get ousted from the competition. Hopes were high though, and many felt that Ireland could bring it back and make their way through.

However, that hope was short lived and Ireland were very much defeated in the quarter finals. To many, they felt that the team had peaked too early, and couldn’t bring their A game to the competition.

Monetary Woes

As well as their defeat in the World Cup, there was upset when it comes to the budget for Irish rugby. Preparing for the World Cup costs and estimated 10 million EUR, and as of November 2023 the IFRU was in a deficit of just under 1 million EUR.

The deficit was attributed to knock on effects from COVID lockdowns, as well as the expenditure needed for the World Cup.

With this deficit in place, some fans are worried that this will affect the development of future talent for the team, as well as other opportunities for Irish rugby to get ahead.

Irish Win In The Six Nations 2024

After their defeat at the World Cup, Ireland came back stronger than ever in the Six Nations 2024. They manage to win the championship, claiming a second successive title for their team.

There was the hope that they would be able to get back-to-back brand slams on all five of their matches, but this was stopped by the England team who managed to get a last-minute win.

Although Ireland clinched that win for themselves, they were very much fighting against some fierce competition. Italy in particular were seen to be one of the most rapidly improving teams out there. Having received as a wooden spoon for eight seasons, they then finished fifth in the 2024 competition.

They also had some fight hard against the English team plumber who have also seen significant improvement since the 2023 World Cup.

With competition showed that while Ireland did manage to bring back some victory after that poor showing at the World Cup, they are still up against some of the best competition in the world, and so cannot become complacent.

What Ireland Will Do Next

So with all this in mind, what will Ireland do next? They have several matches that are upcoming, and fans are waiting eagerly to see what they will do next. In the summer they will be going up against South Africa, who are currently considered world champions. If they are able to pull off a win against this team, they can then cement their reputation as one of the best rugby teams in the world.

They will also be up against New Zealand, Argentina, Fiji, and Australia in the autumn. After these matches, their head coach Andy Farrell will temporarily be moving to coach the British and Irish Lions.

Many feel that a shape up in the team’s line up maybe just what they are looking for, in order to maintain their reputation as a world-class team. If there are changes before then next matches, it could well be what they need to be able to perform at their best.

As for the monetary issues facing the team, there is still optimism in getting cash flow in the black again. Even though there has been talk of selling Six Nations to pay per view channels, officials say that they are confident that they can bring in revenue to avoid measures such as these.

Overall, the Irish rugby team had a hard defeat at the 2023 World Cup, and are now starting to turn around their fortunes thanks to their Six Nations win. Now they will need to keep up that work to remain one of the best in the sport.