Ireland head coach Andy Farrell: 'Everyone gets carried away with different sides of the draw.' Photograph: Nick Elliott/Inpho
Andy Farrell, not surprisingly, was inclined to play the straightest of straight bats at any attempts to peer into the knock-out stages of the 2027 World Cup following the draw for the tournament on Wednesday morning.
However, even at this remove, the Ireland head coach had to concede that the immediate consequences of winning or finishing second in Pool D look significant.
Quite simply, the winners of Pool D – in all probability Ireland or Scotland – will play one of the best third-placed sides in the Round of 16, which barring sizeable upsets, will be Georgia, or maybe Italy, or perhaps one from Japan, USA or Samoa.
By contrast, the “reward” for finishing runners-up in Pool D will be a Round of 16 tie against the winners of Poo
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