Rugby World Cup 2023: Ireland's underwhelming history in tournament

Ireland's last World Cup campaign imploded following the shock defeat by hosts Japan

It takes some comprehending that Ireland have never won a knockout match at the Rugby World Cup.

It's especially bewildering given Andy Farrell's squad will take to the field against Romania in their Pool B opener in Bordeaux on Saturday as the world's top-ranked side.

But you only have to go back four years to recall Joe Schmidt's side also topping the official global ratings as they trotted out in Yokohama for their opening 27-3 World Cup win against Scotland.

But a week later Ireland's World Cup campaign suffered an implosion from which it never recovered as they were stunned 19-12 by the ravenous hosts in Shizuoka.

Ireland limped on to a seventh World Cup quarter-final appearance but their campaign was holed below the waterline and they were duly despatched 46-14 by an All Blacks team subsequently well beaten by England in the semi-finals.

It was another case of 'not again' for Ireland at the World Cup, following the eight other examples of underachievement since the inaugural tournament in 1987.

We will attempt to document how those have unravelled just to mentally prepare us - lest the nightmare returns over the coming weeks.

David Irwin in action against Tonga at the 1987 World Cup less than two months after he had been caught up in an IRA bombing on the Irish border

1987 - Ireland take amateurism to its limits

Ireland should have gone into the inaugural tournament in New Zealand and Australia as one the strongest northern hemisphere sides having won the then Five Nations and the Triple Crown in 1985 and finished second in the championship less than two months earlier.

But in the still seriously amateur era, the Irish Rugby Football Union's decision to not let the squad play any club rugby after the Five Nations - for fear of injuries - left the players woefully lacking in sharpness as they headed to the other side of the world.

The Irish governing body had long made clear its opposition to the notion of a World Cup - which it feared would be an inevitable step on the road to the game going professional - before eventually falling into line.

The build-up to the tournament also saw squad trio Nigel Carr, David Irwin and Philip Rainey caught up in an IRA bombing along the Irish border which killed senior Northern Ireland judge Lord Justice Sir Maurice Gibson and his wife Lady Cecily.

Carr's rugby career was ended by his injuries at the age of 27 but Irwin and Rainey recovered sufficiently to take their places in the Ireland squad.

After the squad arrived in New Zealand, coach Mick Doyle had a heart attack - although he was in the dugout for his side's opening 13-6 defeat by Wales in Wellington, which came just 51 days after they had beaten the same opposition in Cardiff.

That reverse meant a quarter-final meeting with Australia in Sydney, and the hosts quickly charged into a 24-0 lead before going on to win 33-15. That was Ireland's first World Cup over.

1991 - Agonising defeat by Wallabies

The 1991 tournament, co-hosted by the Five Nations countries, saw Ireland once again facing the Wallabies in the quarter-finals and 32 years on, it remains the closest the Irish have come to reaching a World Cup semi-final.

At a raucous Lansdowne Road, the home team tore into Bob Dwyer's side as a sensational late try by Ulster's Gordon Hamilton seemed to have won the game... only for Michael Lynagh's last-gasp touchdown to snatch a 19-18 victory for the Wallabies, who went on to beat England in the final.

1995 - France end Ireland hopes in South Africa

There was no such close-brush with a semi-final spot four years later in the last World Cup of the amateur era as Gerry Murphy's Ireland side were hammered 36-12 by France in the last eight in Durban.

The contest started reasonably promisingly for the Irish and they trailed only 15-12 at half-time following four Eric Elwood penalties - but tries from Emile Ntamack and Philippe Saint-Andre led to the French taking complete control amid Thierry Lacroix's accuracy from the boot.

The earlier pool stage had seen Ireland deny Wales a spot in the knockout stages by edging a 24-23 win at Ellis Park which came after Murphy's side had been beaten 43-19 by the All Blacks.

Ireland's World Cup defeat by Argentina in Lens remains arguably the country's most painful World Cup moment

1999 - Ireland exit after Lens horror show

The first tournament in the professional era saw Wales as the official hosts but fixtures also taking place in Ireland, England, Scotland and France as the Irish faced Australia, USA and Romania in the pool stage at Lansdowne Road.

Australia's 23-3 win in Dublin left Warren Gatland's side having to head to Lens in France to face Argentina in one of the quarter-final play-offs, which had been introduced to accommodate the tournament's extension to 20 teams.

What unfolded remains probably Ireland's most chastening World Cup experience as they were stunned 28-24 by the Pumas.

With David Humphreys kicking all Ireland's points, their lack of creativity was summed up by frantically opting for a 13-man lineout in the dying minutes as they were camped on the Argentina line but to no avail as they missed out on a prized home quarter-final.

2003 - France a bridge too far once more

As had been the case eight years earlier, France ended Ireland's hopes at the quarter-final stage in 2003.

Eddie O'Sullivan's side had gone into the Australia tournament third in the world rankings - inaugurated a couple of weeks earlier - after taking England to a Grand Slam decider the previous spring.

The narrowest of pool defeats by the hosts after David Humphreys was inches wide with a last-kick drop-goal attempt meant a last-eight clash with the French as opposed to a meeting with Scotland.

The Melbourne game proved a no-contest as France led 37-0 after 50 minutes with a final-quarter Irish rally proving no consolation as Keith Wood captained the side to a 43-21 defeat in his final international.

2007 - Undercooked Ireland sunk in pool

Despite only being fifth in the world rankings, Ireland went into the 2007 tournament with hopes high that they would finally reach a semi-final after the stirring Croke Park win over world champions England six months earlier.

But the tournament turned into a sporting disaster for O'Sullivan and his squad as, once again, Ireland had no answer to French flair and Argentinean resolve.

With Ireland appearing severely under-cooked in terms of match practice, a 25-3 hammering by the hosts at the Stade de France left the Irish needing to beat the Pumas a week later to survive the group of death.

Despite a first-half try by Brian O'Driscoll and subsequent Geordan Murphy touchdown, the Irish were sent packing as the eventual semi-finalists clinched a decisive 30-15 victory at the Parc des Princes.

Brian O'Driscoll's final World Cup match in 2011 ended in huge disappointment as the fancied Irish suffered a 22-10 quarter-final defeat against Wales

2011 - The one that really got away

Amid Ireland's tale of World Cup woe, 2011 remains the one that really got away.

As has been their way, the Irish, under new coach Declan Kidney, found their form midway through the cycle to the New Zealand tournament by clinching the 2009 Grand Slam - only the country's second - following a nail-biting concluding victory in Cardiff.

The following two Six Nations tournaments saw the Irish win three out of five games but with Kidney's men denying England the Grand Slam in 2011 after a thumping 24-8 victory in Dublin, Ireland looked poised to deliver in what was going to be the great Brian O'Driscoll's final stab at World Cup glory.

Despite some unconvincing warm-up games, the Irish produced a streetwise display at Eden Park to beat two-times champions Australia 15-6 and secure top spot in their pool to set up a quarter-final against Wales, where they went in as strong favourites.

But once again, Ireland failed to fire in the heat of knockout action at a World Cup and Wales took full advantage as their 10-3 half-time lead in Wellington was extended to 22-10 by the finish.

"You have to suck it up when you haven't performed on the big stage," said a crestfallen O'Driscoll after the final whistle.

2015 - Injury-hit Ireland stunned by Pumas

With the meticulous Schmidt now in charge of the Irish and the 2014 and 2015 Six Nations titles having been banked, Ireland looked good going into the 2015 World Cup.

But after wins over Canada, Romania and Italy, an attritional pool-topping 24-9 over France ultimately proved fatal to Ireland's cup ambitions.

With centre Jared Payne already ruled out by a broken foot, captain Paul O'Connell, Johnny Sexton and Peter O'Mahony all suffered tournament-ending injuries in the France contest, while Sean O'Brien was also suspended for the quarter-final against Argentina after punching Pascal Pape.

With too many key performers missing, Ireland were quickly 17-0 down against the Pumas and while Schmidt's side fought back to trail 20-17 and 23-20, the South Americans responded with 20 unanswered points to close out a 43-20 victory.

2019 - Ireland peak too early once more

The pattern of Ireland regrouping from World Cup disappointment continued. They earned a historic first victory over New Zealand at Soldier Field in Chicago in November 2016 before shooting up the world rankings to second by the end of 2018 after a Grand Slam in the spring was followed by a first home win over the All Blacks in the autumn.

However, Ireland's 2019 Six Nations campaign began with their 12-match home winning run emphatically ended by a fired-up England before a concluding 25-7 defeat in Cardiff added to concerns over the dip in form of Schmidt's side.

The vagaries of the world rankings system left Ireland in top spot for a two-week period immediately before the tournament following two warm-up wins over Wales but they looked a pale shadow of what they had been in 2018 as their shock pool defeat by Japan was followed by a comprehensive 46-14 quarter-final defeat at the hands of the All Blacks.