‘They will peak at the perfect time’ – CJ Stander believes Ireland have learned from their World Cup mistakes

CJ Stander believes Ireland have learned from past mistakes and will be ready to reach their peak at next year’s World Cup in France.

Munster’s former back row was a key part of Ireland’s Grand Slam success in 2018 before things went haywire in Japan. But Stander is confident Andy Farrell’s men are heading in the right direction as they try to time their run.

“Andy has always had a goal for the past few years and months and I can see it getting bigger and stronger every week,” said Stander, who retired last year at the age of 31.

“The exciting thing for me is that they’re not at their peak yet. I think over the past few years as a team we’ve probably peaked at the wrong stages, in a good way, look, we’ve won Grand Slams and that’s a good thing.

“But if you look at it and you want to go (win) to a World Cup, I think they’re going to peak at the perfect time.

“I’m really looking forward to the World Cup for Ireland, I think they’re peaking at the right time. There are still good leaders, guys moving up the ranks, it’s exciting.

“Josh van der Flier, unbelievable. he plays so well You can’t stop a guy like Caelan Doris. People I’ve worked with every day come through.

“The older guys like Johnny (Sexton) and Pete (O’Mahony) play incredible rugby for their age. They push this standard every day.

“Key players are playing well. I think of guys like Andrew Conway, James Lowe, Tadhg Furlong, they play very, very well and that excites me.”