It’s not unrealistic to think that, all going well, the 23-year old could have at least another two cracks at a World Cup. “The next stage is winning a knock-out game at a World Cup and I think there’s no reason we can’t if you look at this group. Josh van der Flier and Jacob Stockdale of Ireland after the 2019 Rugby World Cup Quarter-Final match between New Zealand and Ireland at the Tokyo Stadium in Chofu, Japan. It’s a long way from the cloak of near invincibility that the team once wore but David Kilcoyne says this is a time when the collective needs to stick together and ride out the roughest of the waves. “You look at how much time and effort goes in to getting to a World Cup quarter-final and look back to pre-season, pre-season games, the pool stages and then this,” said Kilcoyne.

Source: Irish Examiner October 21, 2019 04:07 UTC