Can Farrell's Ireland get back on track in 2026?

Story byIreland fell to fourth in the world rankings during 2025 []Jonathan Bradley - BBC Sport NI senior journalistMon, December 29, 2025 at 11:25 AM UTC·6 min readThe year 2025 was one that asked plenty of questions of Andy Farrell's Ireland team. Will 2026 provide the answers?Throughout their tortured World Cup history and failed efforts to reach that first semi-final, the team has been accused of all too frequently peaking at the midway point of the four-year-cycle. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementNobody, though, will be making that claim this time around. After another quarter-final defeat in Paris two years ago - on this occasion a heartbreaker against New Zealand with arguably the finest side Ireland has sent to the tournament - there has been a moderate but undeniable decline. Listen to the Ireland Rugby Social on BBC SoundsIreland's 2026 Nations Championship fixturesIn 2024, Ireland still won the Six Nations, with the magnitude of that achievement not lost on anyone old enough to remember the 24-year wait for such a title between 1985 and 2009. However, there was undeniably a lingering concern over how they left a Grand Slam behind them with defeat by England in Twickenham. A split series in South Africa that summer was, again, not a poor return in isolation but with hindsight it feels increasingly important that the manner of the loss was decidedly more emphatic than that of the win. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementTheir November campaign began with a muddled performance against the All Blacks and it felt as if the side never truly regained their rhythm. The same, perhaps, could be said of 2025 as a whole. Opening with a pair of Six Nations wins over England and Scotland augured well, but they were decisively beaten by France at home either side of laboured away wins over Wales and Italy. A summer tour without the sizeable contingent of both players and coaches who were with the British and Irish Lions in Australia offered little insight or measure of progress. Losses against New Zealand and South Africa when back to a full complement in November only heightened the fear that, having slipped from their 2023 peak, the gap is widening between Ireland and the very best. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementHow Farrell, his coaches and his players go about attempting to ensure that crack does not become a crevice will be the dominant storyline of 2026. Hugo Keenan scored the winning try in the British and Irish Lions' second Test victory over Australia last summer []Perhaps the most dispiriting aspect of those home defeats by France and South Africa was how Ireland felt simply overpowered by both, in contact and - against the latter especially - at the scrum. The nature of those losses has only heightened concerns over the squad's age-profile. Fifteen of the players called up by Farrell for November are the other side of 30-years-old, while a further four will be by the time of the 2027 World Cup. Munster forwards Edwin Edogbo and Brian Gleeson, as well as Ulster centre Jude Postlethwaite, are all uncapped and would offer both new blood and physicality come the 2026 Six Nations. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementLeinster props Paddy McCarthy and Tom Clarkson, and the fit-again Ulster lock Cormac Izuchukwu, already have international experience but greater exposure for the trio would also fit the profile for a campaign that feels a tipping point in the build-up to Australia 2027. Ireland are not prone to throwing the baby out with the bathwater, though. Will Farrell freshen up a largely settled matchday squad with such promising but untested players or continue to rely upon those possessing such credit in the bank with a coach who will mark a decade on the Irish ticket in 2026?How some of those experienced campaigners shift what has felt like a Lions hangover is an intriguing subplot. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThere is more to it, however, than simply personnel. Given the physical profile of their squad even.