Both Irish senior teams will face stern tests in their bid to qualify for the World Cup in September following today's draw for the qualifiers.
Five teams qualify out of the twelve-team, two-pool tournaments.
In the Women's World Cup Qualifiers in Rome from April 26 to May 4, Ireland will face New Zealand, Korea, Azerbaijan, Italy and USA.
"No question, it is a very hard pool that we are in," commented Irish women's national coach Riet Kuper.
"However, we are developing well and the team definitely has a chance to qualify."
The Men's World Cup Qualifiers will take place in Shanghai from April 12 to April 23. Ireland have been pitted against Pakistan, England, Belgium, Canada and Eygpt.
"It's a tough group, of course, but we are at least familiar with the styles of play of a lot of the opposition, many of whom we have played in the last twelve months," said Ireland coach Dave Passmore.
