South Africa’s Birrell bats for Ireland future (AFP)

South Africa’s assistant coach Adrian Birrell wants the decision to cut the next World Cup to 10 teams from 14 to be reversed, saying he did not want his former wards at Ireland to be left out. Birrell, who coached Ireland for four years from 2007 to 2011, said the non-Test playing nation had come a long way since his time with them. “It’s definitely not fair to kick them out,” he said ahead of Tuesday’s Pool B clash between South Africa and Ireland at the Manuka Oval in Canberra. “When I started in Ireland there was probably one or two players who were fully professional, now they’re all professionals.