Scotland must beat Ireland before World Cup - Townsend

Head coach Gregor Townsend says it is important Scotland break their long winless run against Ireland before the sides meet at the 2027 Rugby World Cup.

It is the third World Cup finals in a row that the Scots and Irish have been drawn together in the same group, with Uruguay and Portugal joining them in Pool D.

The teams will meet twice before then in the 2026 and 2027 Six Nations, with Scotland looking to end an 11-match losing run in the fixture.

"It would help massively if we got on the right side of the result for a change," Townsend said.

"We'll know how tough it will be. Dublin, the last game of the Championship, will be a very difficult game, but we played really well last time we were out in Dublin and we'll be doing all we can to win that game.

"It'll be more difficult in the World Cup if we haven't managed to beat Ireland the next two seasons."

Scotland, who were among the second seeds, avoided the top three seeds, with world champions and World Cup holders South Africa in the same group as Italy, New Zealand were draw with hosts Australia, and England grouped with Wales.

Ireland are currently fourth in the world, five spots above Scotland, with Uruguay in 14th and Portugal 20th.

"I think obviously you're going to get a team that's seeded in that first pot, so all of them are there for a reason, they're very good teams," Townsend said.

"It's a different set-up this time compared to the last two World Cups, in particular the last World Cup when we also had South Africa, so we had the two leading sides in the world at the time. So now second-place teams go through, some third-place teams go through, but you want to get out of the pool by winning it.

"It's an easier road to the quarter-finals and semi-finals if you can win your pool, and we'll respect all the three teams that we'll have to face, but obviously Ireland are a team that has beaten us pretty regularly the last few years, so we'll have to be better to beat them."

The tournament takes place in Australia on 1 October - 13 November 2027, in seven venues in seven cities, and has been expanded to feature 24 teams for the first time, with six pools of four teams instead of four pools of five.

The top two teams from each pool, along with the four best third-place teams, will progress to the knockout stage - a first-ever round of 16.

Should Scotland win Pool D, they will face a side finishing third in Pool B, E or F, which could mean matches against Georgia, United States or Tonga should those groups go the way of current rankings.

Overcome one of those and Argentina could be their quarter-final opponents if, as expected, the South Americans win Pool C and beat another third-placed side.

However, if Scotland finish runners-up in their group, they are likely to come against France, who will be favourites to win Pool E.

The full match schedule will be announced on 3 February 2026, with pre-sale tickets for registered fans available from 18 February.

Some venues are also yet to be confirmed.

So who will Gregor Townsend's side be facing in Australia?

Ireland: Ranked fourth in the world, having been number one in 2024, coached by former England player Andy Farrell, have reached the quarter-finals eight times but have yet to progress beyond. Have faced Scotland 143 times, winning 72 and losing 66, and have not lost in their latest 11 meetings.

Uruguay: Ranked 14th in the world, coached by Argentina-born former Italy player Rodolfo Ambrosio, have not progressed beyond the pool stage at five World Cups. Have faced Scotland twice, losing both. Qualified as winners of the 2025 Sudamerica Rugby Championship.

Portugal: Ranked 20th in the world, coached by New Zealander Simon Mannix, have not progressed beyond pool stage at two World Cups. Have played Scotland twice, losing both. Qualified after finishing fourth in the 2025 Rugby Europe Championship.

If there was one team Scotland fans did not want to be drawn with in their World Cup pool, it was Ireland.

Perhaps you would throw the Springboks into that mix, but given how infrequently the Scots play the world champions, South Africa have not inflicted the same psychological damage as the Irish have over the past few years.

Ireland have beaten Scotland in their last 11 meetings and arguably the two worst Scotland performances in that run were in the World Cup pool matches in 2019 and 2023.

There is a theory that Ireland are starting to slip from their lofty heights, that they are an ageing team and perhaps some of their key players don't have another World Cup in them.

We'll know more in just under two years when the action starts Down Under, but Scotland need to find a way to crack the Irish code before then.

Uruguay and Portugal should not represent any problems, so we can at least be almost certain Scotland will make it out their pool for the first time since the 2015 World Cup.

Pool A: Australia (hosts), Hong Kong China, Chile, New Zealand

Pool B: Romania, Georgia, Italy, South Africa

Pool C: Canada, Spain, Fiji, Argentina

Pool D: Portugal, Uruguay, Scotland, Ireland

Pool E: Samoa, USA, Japan, France

Pool F: Zimbabwe, Tonga, Wales, England