Ireland's 2027 World Cup XV: Jack Willis included

Ireland have been drawn into Pool D for the quad-annual competition, with Andy Farrell's men out to make history and become world champions for the first time ever.

Ireland have never won the Rugby World Cup, as the closest they have ever come to the promise land is repetitive quart-final eliminations.

The Emerald Islanders have never progressed further than the last eight, yet could their incoming trip to the land down under provide an end to the hoodoo?

Ireland have been bouyed by a recent revelation, that former England back row Jack Willis is now in fact eligible to play for Andy Farrell's side - pending he signs for one of the four Irish provinces.

Willis qualifies to play for Ireland through his Grandfather, who was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

The back row last played for England at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, in the pool stage win over Chile.

Willis has since been playing in the French Top 14 for Toulouse, where he established himself as one of the premier back row forwards in the world. He has won four consecutive Top 14 titles with Toulouse, along with the Champions Cup in 2024.

On an individual level, Willis has claimed back-to-back Top 14 Player of the Year Awards, with England fans long wishing to see the 14-capped international back on the Test match stage.

However, such wishes could take a cruel twist of fate for England fans. The recent news that Willis has now completed his three-year stand-down from international rugby, does in fact make him eligible to play for Ireland at the 2027 Rugby World Cup.

Should this incredible nations swap come to fruition, Ireland's match day 23 for their opening Rugby World Cup pool stage match against Portugal could look a little something like this:

This Summer marked a changing of the guard upon the Leinster touch-lines, as veteran Ireland wing James Lowe left Leinster in favour of a move to Japan.

Lowe consequently rules himself out of the international squad for the 2027 Rugby World Cup following his move to Tokyo Suntory Sungoliath, where he replaces Springboks superstar Cheslin Kolbe, upon his move to the Stormers.

So, we have selected Tommy O'Brien to start in Lowe's former 11 jersey, as the Leinster man is out to make up for lost international game-time this past Summer.

O'Brien sustained an injury in the URC Final win over the Bulls, which ruled him out of the Nations Championship Southern Series tour of Australia and New Zealand. O'Brien is baying for a return to Irish green, and has a big campaign ahead of him.

Following a stellar return to the Ireland squad in the Summer, we expect Hugo Keenan to retain his spot in the back-field all the way to Australia - pending a clean bill of health. Alongside him, we have opted for Rob Baloucoune, although Connacht's Mack Hansen will chase him down every step of the way.

Plenty to deliberate in the Irish midfield at the moment, with Garry Ringrose and Stuart McCloskey the top picks in the eyes of recent Andy Farrell selections.

Starting with McCloskey, the Ulster stalwart had the season of his life in 2024/25, as injuries and suspensions thinned the Ireland ranks, and allowed the powerful centre to grab an extended run in the midfield with both hands in the Six Nations.

Stand out moments include an incredible chase back on Marcus Smith, to deny the England man a try at Twickenham and an unorthdox American Football style assist for a try at the Aviva Stadium.

Having been the first choice outside centre throughout the Summer, the 13 jersey is Garry Ringrose's to lose in the eyes of the Irish selectors, with Bundee Aki and Robbie Henshaw both out to etch their names in the playbook before the World Cup rolls around.

This could make for tough reading for Munster fans, but there is no denying that a Leinster duo are once again leading the race to the green nine and 10 jerseys.

Starting with fly half, the news that Jack Crowley will be out of action until at least January is a gut-punch for the Red Army.

Crowley is suffering from a rare leg issue, that prevents the fly half the ability to generate power for kicks and whilst running.

Sam Prendergast has naturally gravitated into the vacant spot, with his provincial teammate Harry Byrne and new Connacht man Ciaran Frawley his next natural challengers.

At scrum half, there is little unseating Jamison Gibson-Park. Even after a solid campaign with Munster, Craig Casey struggles to get more than a cameo appearence from the bench with the Leinster scrum half in such game-breaking form.

The New Zealand-born maestro was at his ever-green best in the Summer, and is probably the first man on Andy Farrell's team-sheet at the moment.

We move onto the forward pack now, and a formidable Leinster trio make up the first choice options should they all get the green light from the injury wards.

Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan and Tadhg Furlong bring a wealth of international experience to Ireland's Rugby World Cup pack, with the three front rowers regarded amongst the very best in their respective positions by fans and peers alike.

However, it has been quite a wait to see the trio bind up in Irish green, as Porter missed a considerable part of the past season with a calf injury. However, the loose-head returned to action in the first round of the URC this past weekend, as he packed down against the Lions in Johannesburg.

Ireland have steadily improved their front row depth, with the likes of Tom O'Toole, Michael Milne and Jeremy Loughman all gaining recent international caps should such issues arise. Finlay Bealham remains a strong option from the bench, along with his newly capped Connacht teammates Sam Illo and Billy Bohan.

The lay of the land across the locks and back row is quite the butterfly effect, so we have compiled the second row and loose forwards into one swift entry.

So, in this predicted universe we have assigned Jack Willis the spot upon the Ireland blind-side, in a move that would simply send shockwaves through the entire Northern Hemisphere.

Whilst Willis was a rare starter for Steve Borthwick upon England duties, there is just no overlooking the Toulouse man for a spot in the starting XV, given how well he has progressed and the world-class player he has become over the past three years.

This then asks tough questions on who to drop, with Tadhg Beirne also too important to Ireland's grit to leave out of the starting XV.

So, Beirne has been moved from the blind-side flank and into the locks, to allow Willis the six shirt. This then sends James Ryan to the bench, with no space in the squad for the likes of Ryan Baird, or bolters Cormac Izuchukwu and Edwin Edogbo.

Joe McCarthy starts in the row alongside Beirne, as the mulletted missile enjoyed a phenomenal run of form with Ireland in the Six Nations, and then into the URC title winning season with Leinster.

His provincial teammates Josh van der Flier and Caelan Doris round off the predicted back row, as the seven and eight jerseys have sure-fire heirarchies in the Irish camp.

New coming New Zealander Sean Jansen is staking a claim to the eight shirt, yet the Connacht man is unlikly to move Jack Conan from the replacements bench just yet.