Irish rugby fans to hitch wagons and head west for best World Cup routes

The World Cup is just over a month away. If you have yet to make travel plans, we advise you do so immediately... after you read this.

Joe Schmidt's Ireland enter world rugby's elite tournament with a genuine chance of achieving a best ever finish. Schmidt has targeted the semi-finals but you can be sure he will demand more of his charges if they make it that far. Ireland will play their pool matches in London and Cardiff. Luckily enough for Irish fans, there are a host of travel options available. Rugby fans who are only getting around to plotting World Cup journeys will be pleased to see Ireland West Airport Knock has announced its winter schedule, with a host of destinations ideally suited to those who want to get behind Paul O'Connell and Co as they chase the 38cm of gilded silver better known as the William Webb Ellis Cup. They've marked this announcement with a video in which some passengers, using Ireland West, get some tackling practice in with Connacht legend Gavin Duffy. https://youtu.be/6MEci-nfGXk Ireland West currently has flights to seven different UK airports, which is the biggest selection of destinations from any airport across the West and North West of the country. Only Cork and Dublin Airport have a wider choice of destinations to choose from. The routes include Bristol, East Midlands, Liverpool, Manchester and three London airports - Luton, Gatwick and Stansted. The airport is served by three of Europe's biggest carriers: Aer Lingus, Flybe and Ryanair. Ireland play Canada and France in Cardiff, on September 19 and October 11. This should make Ireland west to Bristol a popular destination, although the other six airports are all less than a four-hour drive away. The Six Nations champions play Romania [Wembley Stadium] and Italy [Olympic Stadium] on September 27 and October 4 respectively. Ireland West provides three routes in airports serving the wider London area. With 703,000 passengers using the airport, 2014 was Ireland West's busiest year. Given the huge level of interest in the range of flight options, our proximity to the World Cup and growing optimism in Ireland's chances, 2015 should surpass that figure at a canter. For more information on UK and European flights visit www.irelandwestairport.com or follow them on Facebook and Twitter, @Irelandwest, for regular updates.