Joe Schmidt hoping Steve Hansen will prove lucky for Ireland

Joe Schmidt will be hoping Steve Hansen doesn’t bear a grudge when the All Blacks head coach helps pull Ireland’s 2019 World Cup pool opponents out of the bag during today’s draw in Kyoto, Japan.

Ireland’s historic first victory over New Zealand in Chicago last November helped lift Schmidt’s men in green into the top four in the world rankings and their final-round Six Nations win over England in March assured them of a place among the top-four seeds in Band One of this morning’s draw alongside Hansen’s reigning world champions, the English and Australia.

As coach of the 2015 winners Hansen will be responsible for drawing out one of the five bands of four teams with all eyes on any potential “pools of death”.