IRELAND’S WORLD CUP warm-up games don’t get underway for another month, but already the squad are hard at it out in Abbotstown as preparations for rugby’s showpiece event in France later this year continue to ramp up.

Ireland’s opening pool game sees them face Romania in Bordeaux on 9 September, but before that Andy Farrell’s side will take in warm-up games against Italy (5 August), England (19 August) and Samoa (26 August).

With the World Cup having been a target in the distance for some time now, it’s suddenly all beginning to feel very real for Farrell’s players, with a 42-man training squad gathering at the IRFU’s High Performance Centre in Abbotstown two weeks ago for the start of their summer camp. 

“There’s always a bit of nerves going into camp first day, a sort of back-to-school feeling, but excitement as well,” says Ireland fullback Hugo Keenan.

“Everyone came in buzzing. It was nice to have a couple of weeks off, it was needed, but then lads were keen to get back into what they love, and start getting ready for the tournament.

Keenan training with Ireland last week. Dan Sheridan / INPHO Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO

“They didn’t go mad with us in the first couple of days in terms of running loads, and built us up nicely. It’s definitely been tough, but it’s a bit different when you’re in games, as opposed to pre-season training. You have to do a certain amount of work during the week to get you right for a Test match. Now it’s more about building us up for something in two months’ time.”

This will be Keenan’s first experience of playing in a World Cup, with the Leinster player having come into the squad during the early days of Farrell’s reign. His rise since has been quite remarkable – debuting for Ireland in late 2020 and quickly establishing himself as Farrell’s first-choice fullback.

“I’m hugely excited about the opportunity (to play at a World Cup),” Keenan continues.

I’m going to work my ass off to get on the plane. It’s something I would have dreamed of as a kid, not that I thought it would ever happen. It would be my first one, so obviously there’s a bit of excitement around that. A lot of the lads are in the same boat as well.”

The group haven’t been shy about outlining their ambition to achieve something special at this World Cup, and at each impressive milestone reached over the last 12 months – a Series win in New Zealand and a clean-sweep of Autumn victories followed by Grand Slam success earlier this year – the message from the camp has been that this is a squad who believe the best is yet to come.

Previously, the pressure to perform has proved overwhelming at World Cups, but the coaching staff have taken steps to address that issue, taking feedback from previous camps and using it to shape the plan this time around.

Mentally, Ireland feel they are in a good place, but Keenan acknowledges they’ll also have to build on their impressive Six Nations form and take to their game to a new level if they are to make history in France.

“We’re going to have to improve a huge amount,” he adds.

“Every other team in the competition will have so much time together, they’re only going to be getting better, they’re going to be developing. The standard we got to in those previous tournaments or series won’t be enough this time, so we’re just talking about getting ourselves in a better spot than any of the other tournaments gone before so that no team can leapfrog us.

We know the challenge ahead and how tough it is to win the World Cup, we just have to embrace it.

“We’ve been using every tournament or series that we’ve been part of over the last couple of years as a stepping stone to this point. A lot of the time we would refer to the last three games of the Six Nations as a quarter-final, semi-final, final and bring that mentality in when we’re coming into a knockout tournament.

“It’s a bit different to a series or Six Nations where you might be able to lose a game. We know the pool stages and knockouts is going to be that bit tougher, so we can’t afford to slip up. There’s a huge mentality side to things.”

Farrell will whittle his 42-man group down to a final travelling squad of 33 in late August, and while Keenan’s place on the plane should be safe, he says the competition at training has added a nice edge to things across the early weeks of their summer camp.

“You just have to use it as healthy competition to drive you on to improve yourself to get better.

Keenan in action during the Six Nations. James Crombie / INPHO James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO

“There will be opportunities in the warm-up games to put up your hand, so I think it’s going to be about your performances in those and what you’ve done in the season just gone. But it will also be about how good of a teammate you are, because if you’re spending eight weeks over there together you have got to buy into the group and to be there to be helping others.

“It is going to take a huge squad effort. I know there is 33 on the plane but through the nature of injuries you are probably looking at 40, potentially even more which is what we have in at the moment. I think people are only using the competition as a positive.”

Leinster Rugby player Hugo Keenan is a new ambassador for Optimum Nutrition, the world’s number 1 sports nutrition brand, and part of the Glanbia Performance Nutrition brand family. For more information visit optimumnutrition.com or check out @optimumnutrition_i.e., on Instagram.