"Ireland in the Final" - Which Home Nation Will Go the Furthest in the 2023 Rugby World Cup

With the tournament anticipation rising, we decided to dust off the magic eight ball, and mark our predictions on how far each of the home nations side's will get in the competition.

Ireland are lining up to achieve their first ever Rugby World Cup triumph, with Andy Farrell's men ticking all the right boxes with the 2023 Guinness Six Nations Grand Slam. Shoulder to shoulder, Ireland are World Rugby's Number One ranked side, and look almost unbeatable when playing at their very best. RUCK believe that they have what it takes to reach the final on October 28th, with a returning Johnny Sexton boosting their ranks in the latter stages of the competition.

Ireland have a tough road to the final, will Pool B rightly being named 'the group of death'. Ireland have to deal with Scotland, South Africa, Tonga and Romania in their pool, with expectations being that either Ireland or the Springboks will top the group. We have opted for Ireland, who will then face the runners-up of Pool A, in the All Blacks. This gargantuan quarter-final will see momentum swing countless times, before Ireland eventually triumph by the narrowest of margins.

We predict that the men from the Emerald Isle will then have a run in with Eddie Jones' Australia in the final four. The Wallabies look to be finding re-invigored form under Jones, and will top Pool C before eliminating Argentina in the quarter-finals. Ireland will overcome Australia, and end their long standing World Cup curse, by reaching their first final, and a showdown with hosts France.

The final is expected to feature two sides to have never won the Rugby World Cup, and an Ireland vs France curtain-caller could truly go either way. Les Bleus would benefit from the home-field advantage at the Stade de France, and it could well be 'fourth times the charm', with France taking silver medals on three separate occasions. But never rule out the luck of the Irish, who are rightful front-runners to lift the Web Ellis trophy, and bring it home to Dublin for the first time ever.

Steve Borthwick needs to shake off the Six Nations cobwebs, and get to grips with his England side ahead of the Rugby World Cup. The fly-half selection saga is yet to see a decisive winner, with Owen Farrell, Marcus Smith and Sale outsider George Ford all looking to make the squad and book their tickets for the Eurostar.

England have been gifted with a winnable group, and are not set to take on any of the top five World Rugby ranked nations until at least the semi-final. However this will be where England bow-out, and will mark a successful enough first venture on the World Cup stage for Borthwick.

England should finish out on top of Pool D, as they face Argentina, Japan, Samoa and Rugby World Cup debutants Chile. Los Pumas are looking to be the toughest threat, as with the shadows of the shock 29-30 Argentina victory still loom over Twickenham Stadium. Calm heads will prevail against Argentina, and England have a taste of Pacific Island physicality to prepare them for Samoa, as they take on Fiji in a World Cup warm-up match.

Japan are growing from strength to strength, with the Brave Blossoms no strangers to a World Cup upset. The 'Brighton Miracle' of 2015 saw Japan defy the odds with a victory over South Africa, and England know not to take their group stage rivals lightly. Chile are an unknown anomaly, qualifying for the very first time they are out to leave everything out on the pitch and make their mark on the international rugby stage.

A quarter final run in with Wales is likely, if RUCK's predictions align for Australia to top Pool C, and Wales finish runners-up. In a repeat of the latest Six Nations, England are expected to win this last-eight encounter. However, two World Cup warm up matches against Warren Gatland's side, alternating between Cardiff and Twickenham will give a better idea as to what to expect from this possible meeting.

Then England will meet Antoine Dupont and co, and make their exit from the Rugby World Cup in the semi-finals. Following on from their last meeting, which saw France embarrass England with their record defeat at Twickenham Stadium (10-53), Fabien Galthie's men are certifiable favourites if the two sides where to meet again at the Rugby World Cup.

This will be an unfortunate reality given just how exciting Gregor Townsends' side have been in recent years, optimised best at the latest Six Nations competition. However, Scotland have pulled the short straw in terms of Rugby World Cup Pool Stages, as they have the might of South Africa and Ireland to contend with in the first stage of the competition.

A shock victory is always possible, yet we are going for the most likely outcomes for these predictions. Ireland and South Africa are the two most likely sides to march on to the quarter finals, at the expense of Scotland. This is lining up to be Scottish legend Stuart Hogg's final farewell from rugby, as the fullback announced his plans for the shock retirement at the end of March.

We hope to be proven wrong, and that Scotland perform to their highest standards and record victories over the Springboks and Ireland. The more probably win would be against South Africa, who have slipped off the pace slightly since their 15-30 victory over Scotland in Edinburgh, during the 2021 Autumn series. The current state of both sides will be put on full display during the upcoming Summer, as the World Cup Warm-Up matches will be eagerly watched by coaching staff across the world.

South Africa take on the All Blacks at Twickenham Stadium, with an expected sell-out crowd on foreign soil generating a World Cup experience for the two heavyweights of international rugby. Scotland have Six Nations replays throughout the Summer as they take on France twice, with the matches pillared between run-ins with Italy and Six Nations hopefuls Georgia, in a hectic schedule. We will see just what the lads from North of the wall are set to bring to France, in their intriguing warm-up fixtures.

The expected ending to Wales 2023 Rugby World Cup story has already been discussed, with a quarter-final departure to England being foretold by RUCK's fortune tellers. However, Wales will likely have an interesting Rugby World Cup campaign, as all eyes will be on Warren Gatland after an underwhelming fifth placed finish in the 2023 Six Nations.

Thankfully, Gatland was able to record a win in his return to Wales, with a sigh of relief exhaled across the nation following the victory over Italy. Yet this was the peak of Wales' Six Nations, as they were comfortably beaten by Gaelic brothers Ireland and Scotland, as with France also running out decisive winners at 41-28.

Wales entire campaign was overshadowed by the WRU's contract negotiation saga, with the off-field focus distracting Gatland's men, with the England match almost cancelled due to Welsh players threatening to strike. However, the mainstream dust has now settled on that saga, and Wales will be tested in their Pool C encounters. They look likely to win all but the match against Australia, as the Wallabies seem favourites to top the pool, having recently leap-frogged Wales and Argentina in the World Rugby rankings.

Fiji and Georgia will prove to be tough tests for Warren Gatland's side, and may even trip up Wales' aims of getting out the group. In last year's Autumn series, Wales were defeated 12-13 by a regimented Georgian side at the Principality Stadium, in what was the nail in the coffin for Wayne Pivac's time as Wales Head Coach. Wales last played Fiji in the 2019 Rugby World Cup Pool Stage, where they ran out 29-17 victors.

This Welsh side still features many of the older veteran players from that Japan World Cup, but their legs are more tired now, with a transitional era is set to ensue after the 2023 World Cup. Similar to Chile against England, Wales take on Portugal in Pool C, who are tough to predict on their Rugby World Cup debut. This could well be a 'banana skin' match for Wales, as the Portuguese have no expectations, and are out to upset the renowned international sides on the biggest stage.