Favourites tag could add to Ireland's pressure at World Cup - Steve Hansen

Former All Blacks coach Steve Hansen said the expectations of Ireland following their Grand Slam triumph will add to their pressure of performing in the upcoming Rugby World Cup scheduled in France later this year.

Andy Farrell's men had a fabulous last two years as they went on to win all the five matches in the recently concluded Six Nations competition to claim the title for the fifth time.

They also defeated the All Blacks in New Zealand for the first time last summer and finished the year with an unbeaten autumn international campaign as they rose to the number one position in the World Rugby Rankings.

"Ireland were good throughout the Six Nations," he said. "In that final game they started off a bit shaky and England rattled them a bit, but once the red card came it was game over and they were good enough to take advantage of it," said Hansen, who was part of New Zealand's 2011 and 2015 victorious World Cup triumphs.

Nevertheless, Ireland's quest in the Rugby World Cup until now has been a question mark as they have never reached a semi-final previously and the former All Blacks coach believes it will take a special effort from them to overcome the hurdle.

"Every time a team is number one in the world, you've got to consider them to be a World Cup contender - but it's a tough tournament to win, and they were number one going into the last one, weren't they?

"So, they've seemed to struggle a little bit at World Cups. If it was the All Blacks, they'd probably be called 'chokers'.

"But they've come a long way, they believe in themselves, and they're a very good side, so they're definitely a contender. But they'll have to overcome the pressure of not having gone past the quarter-finals before, and there'll be a lot of pressure involved in that.

"If they get through to the semi-finals, then they're in new territory. That's something they'll have to deal with that they've never dealt with before, and it's always hard to deal with something you haven't dealt with before."

Ireland are grouped in Pool B along with South Africa, Scotland, Tonga and Romania. Their first World Cup game will be against Romania on 9th September in Bordeaux.