Ireland have earned mantle of world’s top side and deserve all the good will coming to them
Nor is there the sense of achievement when any Tier 1 rugby team qualifying for a Rugby World Cup, and there’s also Ireland’s record at the previous nine tournaments – namely seven quarter-final exits along with a quarter-final play-off defeat against Argentina in Lens in 1999 and, worse still, a pool exit in 2007 in France when beaten by the hosts and the Pumas.
Yet this glass ceiling has become a monkey around the necks of Irish teams, and seemingly with increasing weight. What’s more, it is used as a stick to beat over the heads of the sport in this country by the anti-rugby lobby. Having won 22 of their last 24 matches and backed up a historic series comeback win over the All Blacks with a Grand Slam, Ireland have earned the mantle of the world’s number one ranked side and deserve all the good will in the country which is going for them.
Come the World Cup itself, Ireland will again enjoy huge support, and especially the pool games against Romania and Tonga in Bordeaux and Nantes will be glorified home games, akin to Dunedin, Cardiff and London in years past. For a tiny little island, in which the national sports dominate, it really is remarkable how Ireland punches above its weight and the support which Irish sportsmen and women enjoy in all corners of the world.
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