Ireland compete annually in the Six Nations, which they’ve won outright 16 times. They've appeared at every edition of the Rugby World Cup.
Ireland Rugby News
Six Nations
Another ex-player weighs in on new Jacques Nienaber theory in Ireland
Ireland coach John Fogarty makes frank Tadhg Furlong admission
'I’m severely worried': Ex-players sound alarm over looming Irish crisis
World Rankings record on the line in round two of the Six Nations
Latest
'That will come to bite England... but they hide him well'
Ireland get timely Tadhg Furlong boost ahead of Italy
Where Irish rugby should actually look if they want to play blame game
The times are changing, and some Six Nations teams may be left behind
5 Englishmen make our Six Nations team of the week
France star withdrawn from squad ahead of Wales trip
World Ranking
Ireland Rugby are currently 5th in the World Rugby Rankings. The last time they were World #1 was November 2024.
Ranking Over Time
Date {{date}}
Rank # {{rank}}
Points {{points}}
[{"ps":3,"p":83.92,"d":"Oct 2003"},{"ps":4,"p":83.92,"d":"Oct 2003"},{"ps":3,"p":84.95,"d":"Oct 2003"},{"ps":5,"p":83.51,"d":"Nov 2003"},{"ps":6,"p":80.52,"d":"Feb 2004"},{"ps":5,"p":82.52,"d":"Jun 2004"},{"ps":6,"p":82.9,"d":"Feb 2005"},{"ps":5,"p":83.61,"d":"Feb 2005"},{"ps":4,"p":84.3,"d":"Mar 2005"},{"ps":5,"p":82.9,"d":"Mar 2005"},{"ps":7,"p":79.74,"d":"Feb 2006"},{"ps":6,"p":81.37,"d":"Mar 2006"},{"ps":5,"p":83.8,"d":"Nov 2006"},{"ps":3,"p":84.67,"d":"Nov 2006"},{"ps":5,"p":84.67,"d":"Feb 2007"},{"ps":4,"p":85.19,"d":"Feb 2007"},{"ps":5,"p":84.61,"d":"Mar 2007"},{"ps":4,"p":85.27,"d":"May 2007"},{"ps":5,"p":82.37,"d":"Aug 2007"},{"ps":6,"p":80.82,"d":"Aug 2007"},{"ps":5,"p":81.29,"d":"Sep 2007"},{"ps":6,"p":79.7,"d":"Sep 2007"},{"ps":7,"p":78.91,"d":"Mar 2008"},{"ps":8,"p":78.51,"d":"Feb 2009"},{"ps":7,"p":79.31,"d":"Feb 2009"},{"ps":6,"p":81.22,"d":"Mar 2009"},{"ps":4,"p":84.6,"d":"Feb 2010"},{"ps":5,"p":82.03,"d":"Nov 2010"},{"ps":6,"p":81.05,"d":"Nov 2010"},{"ps":7,"p":80.9,"d":"Nov 2010"},{"ps":5,"p":81.79,"d":"Feb 2011"},{"ps":6,"p":81.02,"d":"Mar 2011"},{"ps":4,"p":82.51,"d":"Aug 2011"},{"ps":6,"p":80.67,"d":"Aug 2011"},{"ps":7,"p":79.57,"d":"Aug 2011"},{"ps":8,"p":78.5,"d":"Sep 2011"},{"ps":6,"p":82.5,"d":"Sep 2011"},{"ps":5,"p":83.14,"d":"Oct 2011"},{"ps":7,"p":80.65,"d":"Oct 2011"},{"ps":6,"p":80.65,"d":"Feb 2012"},{"ps":8,"p":79.44,"d":"Feb 2012"},{"ps":7,"p":80.55,"d":"Mar 2012"},{"ps":8,"p":79.85,"d":"Jun 2012"},{"ps":7,"p":79.85,"d":"Nov 2012"},{"ps":8,"p":79.04,"d":"Nov 2012"},{"ps":7,"p":79.04,"d":"Nov 2012"},{"ps":6,"p":80.29,"d":"Feb 2013"},{"ps":7,"p":79.17,"d":"Mar 2013"},{"ps":9,"p":78.05,"d":"Jun 2013"},{"ps":8,"p":79.58,"d":"Nov 2013"},{"ps":6,"p":80.76,"d":"Nov 2013"},{"ps":7,"p":79.96,"d":"Feb 2014"},{"ps":6,"p":81.05,"d":"Feb 2014"},{"ps":5,"p":80.76,"d":"Mar 2014"},{"ps":6,"p":80.76,"d":"Mar 2014"},{"ps":5,"p":84.84,"d":"Nov 2014"},{"ps":3,"p":85.48,"d":"Feb 2015"},{"ps":4,"p":85.66,"d":"Feb 2015"},{"ps":3,"p":85.76,"d":"Aug 2015"},{"ps":2,"p":86.89,"d":"Aug 2015"},{"ps":3,"p":85.19,"d":"Aug 2015"},{"ps":6,"p":84.4,"d":"Sep 2015"},{"ps":5,"p":84.4,"d":"Sep 2015"},{"ps":4,"p":84.4,"d":"Sep 2015"},{"ps":5,"p":84.4,"d":"Oct 2015"},{"ps":3,"p":85.74,"d":"Oct 2015"},{"ps":6,"p":81.1,"d":"Feb 2016"},{"ps":8,"p":79.7,"d":"Mar 2016"},{"ps":7,"p":81.97,"d":"Jun 2016"},{"ps":6,"p":81.68,"d":"Nov 2016"},{"ps":5,"p":83.68,"d":"Nov 2016"},{"ps":4,"p":84.67,"d":"Jun 2017"},{"ps":3,"p":85.4,"d":"Aug 2017"},{"ps":4,"p":85.4,"d":"Sep 2017"},{"ps":3,"p":85.4,"d":"Oct 2017"},{"ps":4,"p":86.4,"d":"Nov 2017"},{"ps":3,"p":87.23,"d":"Mar 2018"},{"ps":2,"p":89.93,"d":"Mar 2019"},{"ps":3,"p":88.7,"d":"Aug 2019"},{"ps":4,"p":87.37,"d":"Aug 2019"},{"ps":2,"p":88.88,"d":"Sep 2019"},{"ps":1,"p":89.48,"d":"Sep 2019"},{"ps":2,"p":89.94,"d":"Sep 2019"},{"ps":4,"p":85.94,"d":"Oct 2019"},{"ps":5,"p":84.64,"d":"Feb 2020"},{"ps":4,"p":84.92,"d":"Oct 2020"},{"ps":5,"p":83.42,"d":"Feb 2021"},{"ps":6,"p":82.31,"d":"Feb 2021"},{"ps":7,"p":82.55,"d":"Mar 2021"},{"ps":6,"p":83.72,"d":"Mar 2021"},{"ps":5,"p":84.69,"d":"Mar 2021"},{"ps":4,"p":84.85,"d":"Sep 2021"},{"ps":5,"p":84.96,"d":"Nov 2021"},{"ps":4,"p":86.53,"d":"Feb 2022"},{"ps":3,"p":86.83,"d":"Feb 2022"},{"ps":5,"p":86,"d":"Mar 2022"},{"ps":4,"p":87.25,"d":"Jul 2022"},{"ps":2,"p":88.79,"d":"Jul 2022"},{"ps":1,"p":93.79,"d":"Oct 2023"},{"ps":3,"p":90.57,"d":"Oct 2023"},{"ps":2,"p":92.12,"d":"Sep 2024"},{"ps":1,"p":92.12,"d":"Nov 2024"},{"ps":3,"p":90.58,"d":"Nov 2024"},{"ps":2,"p":91.36,"d":"Mar 2025"},{"ps":3,"p":89.83,"d":"Aug 2025"},{"ps":2,"p":89.83,"d":"Aug 2025"},{"ps":3,"p":89.83,"d":"Aug 2025"},{"ps":2,"p":89.83,"d":"Sep 2025"},{"ps":3,"p":88.85,"d":"Nov 2025"},{"ps":4,"p":87.97,"d":"Feb 2026"},{"ps":5,"p":86.81,"d":"Feb 2026"}]
Ireland Rugby Matches
Thu 5 Feb, 2026
Six Nations
![France]()
France
![Ireland]()
Ireland
Stade de France
Sat 14 Feb, 2026
Six Nations
![Ireland]()
Ireland
![Italy]()
Italy
Aviva Stadium
Sat 21 Feb, 2026
Six Nations
![England]()
England
![Ireland]()
Ireland
Allianz Stadium
Ireland Rugby Rugby Team Players
Ireland Rugby Tournaments
![International]()
International
![Six Nations]()
Six Nations
![Rugby World Cup]()
Rugby World Cup
![Autumn Nations Series]()
Autumn Nations Series
Ireland Rugby Team
The Ireland rugby team is considered to be one of the world's best rugby union sides. Although they're yet to capture the Rugby World Cup, the team boasts an impressive honours list that includes numerous titles on the international stage, as well as continued high placings in the World Rugby Rankings.
As you would expect from one of the giants of the sport, some of the world's best players have represented the Ireland national rugby team, including rugby icons like Johnny Sexton and Brian O'Driscoll.
Ireland at the Six Nations Championship
The Ireland national rugby team was an inaugural member of the Home Nations Championship in 1883. They’ve since competed in every iteration of the tournament, including the Five Nations Championship and the Six Nations Championship.
Over the years, Ireland have been a formidable force in the competition. In total, they’ve won 16 outright titles, including victories in the Home Nations, Five Nations and Six Nations Championship eras. Added to this, the Ireland rugby team has also claimed another eight shared titles.
In recent years, the Ireland rugby team has been particularly successful in the Six Nations. They won the competition in both 2023 and 2024. Plus, they have won three Grand Slam titles this millennium.
Ireland at the Rugby World Cup
The Ireland national rugby team has competed in every edition of the Rugby World Cup. Although they are a consistent side - they have reached the quarter finals in eight out of 10 tournaments - the Ireland rugby team has never progressed to the semi-finals.
Ireland were eliminated in the quarter finals in 1987, 1991, 1995, 2003, 2011, 2015, 2019 and 2023. The team almost progressed to the semi finals in 1991, when they battled Australia in a hard-fought match. With seven minutes remaining, the Irish squad took the lead but Australia turned the tables and secured a 19-18 win.
Meanwhile, Ireland's worst Rugby World Cup result came in 2007. The Irish squad was drawn in Pool D (the 'Group of Death') alongside Argentina and France. To the disappointment of Irish fans, the team crashed out of the tournament after losing against both sides.
France 
England 
