The countdown is on.
That was the simple message from Andy Farrell when he assembled his Ireland squad on Monday morning in Dublin.
It may be two years out from the World Cup but the players have been told that this international window is the start of their Webb Ellis preparation.
The tournament, in Australia between 1 October and 13 November 2027, has been expanded from 20 to 24 nations with the top six in the World Rugby rankings after the autumn designated the Band 1 teams.
Six pools of four will be whittled down to a round of 16 and then a quarter-final, Ireland's undefeated nemesis.
Farrell's side are currently ranked third in the world and are almost guaranteed to remain in the top six ahead of the draw on 3 December barring a disastrous run of results in November.
There are more ranking points at stake in the upcoming matches against New Zealand in Chicago on Saturday week, and Japan, Australia and South Africa in Dublin, all feeding into the seeding for the draw.
So Ireland have to start somewhere and where better than in Chicago against the mighty All Blacks, who leapfrogged Ireland into second place in the rankings after they finished runners-up to the Springboks in the Rugby Championship.
They know it's down the road and at the back of people's minds but Jamison Gibson-Park (above) didn't exactly roll out the 'one game at a time' line when he spoke to reporters at the HPC in Blanchardstown in Dublin on Monday.
"I suppose we are two years out from the World Cup now, aren't we? Things are starting to build towards that a little bit," he said when asked how the boss man had welcomed them into camp.
"But in the same breath, you’ve got to get good at falling in love with the process.
"It’s very much a next-game mindset like we always say.
"But there is that little carrot down the road to look at [and] there are many games to come before that.
"[A new chapter] is something we mentioned, the two-year mark.
"A lot of teams have started to look towards the next World Cup. It certainly felt that way in the meeting a little bit.
"It was a bit of a refresher. We’ve already brought in some new stuff this morning that we are working on for the next couple of weeks. It’s exciting times, for sure."
Gibson-Park is now one of the older cohort; the New Zealand native will be 35 when he rocks up to Australia.
He's been capped 43 times since making his debut in 2020 aged 28 and is a firm Farrell favourite, with the scrum-half starting all three British and Irish Lions Tests.
The former Hurricanes and Blues back had an extended break after the Australia tour and made his seasonal debut for Leinster in Saturday's lacklustre defeat to Munster.
"I feel great. Physically and mentally," he said.
"I thought I was in pretty good shape going out there at the weekend but I suppose we were humbled a little bit by Munster and fair dues to them.
"But I feel pretty good, we had a great training week and I suppose the beauty now is we get to link up with the other provinces and get to work for the next couple of weeks."
Despite the sluggish manner of the performance at Croke Park, Gibson-Park (above) reckons the result, the defending URC champions third defeat in four, will serve as "reality check" they can't afford to ignore.
"A lot of us first time out and we felt as though we prepared well, but we obviously hadn't because they're by far the better team," he said.
"It's been a slow start to the season for us. It's kind of a stop-go thing. We were late into camp, the Lions guys, and then the boys went away to South Africa.
"It's just kind of been a very stop-start. I'm not making excuses, but it's been a tough start to the season and then we're back in here.
"Hopefully we can hit our straps by the time we're back in together again at Christmas time."
Next up it's another chance to face off against his native land. Munster scrum-half Craig Casey is pushing for a start but Gibson-Park will likely find himself in the 23 at Soldier Field.
It will be the former Maori All Black's seventh time to face the Haka.
"It was a little bit strange," he recalls of the first time he stood up to the challenge in the 29-20 win at Aviva Stadium in 2021.
"I thought I was ready for it but then you get out it hits you pretty hard.
"Strange but in the same breath, it was pretty awesome as well. It’s a pretty special moment to face the Haka and the anthems as well."
Gibson-Park played his rugby in New Zealand until moving to Ireland in 2016 and was close to the Barrett brothers, including Jordie, who spent six months at Leinster last season.
"It’s one I always mark down and want to be a part of," he added of the fixture in which the teams have shared five wins apiece in the last 10 meetings.
"I absolutely love coming up against those guys.
"I suppose it dates back to my childhood. The kind of brotherly rivalry or whatever.
"I would have had massive rivalries with my brothers growing up and this is kind of a little bit the same."
Leinster's latest recruit from the Land of the Long White Cloud is centre Rieko Ioane, who had an infamous run-in with former Ireland out-half Johnny Sexton (above) after the World Cup defeat in 2023.
The news that the 28-year-old was signing from the Blues on a six-month deal at the end of November, Gibson-Park admits, caught the Leinster players by surprise.
"Like a lot of people, when the news broke we were a little bit shocked," he said.
"Normally you get a bit of a whisper or something if there's something going to go down, but this one just kind of hit us all point blank.
"He's obviously a lot younger than me. I actually trained with him at the Blues, though.
"Funny enough, I was probably 21 and I think he was still in school when he came and trained with us.
"He was that well thought of."
