WHY IRELAND WILL WIN THE WORLD CUP

It has been an incredible period for Ireland's men - in fact, their best ever - but to win the World Cup they will have to go far beyond anything done before. Here's why we think they'll do it...

- Tom English

EMBRACING HOPE ahead of Rugby World Cups has seen Irish rugby fans being burned more times than the Wicker Man. Mention out loud that there is now compelling evidence supporting the view that their New Zealand-busting, Springbok-beating, France-thrashing, Grand Slam-winning team can, and possibly will, win the World Cup in France in the autumn and you’ll be shouted down and labelled a curse. World Cup glory is, to many in Ireland, the dream that dare not speak its name.

You will be hit with stories of past heartaches, of good Irish teams peaking too early and failing on the biggest stage, of four years ago when they went into the tournament in Japan as world number one – as they are now – only to get beaten by the host nation in the pool stage and then humiliated by the All Blacks in the quarter-finals.

Referring to past letdowns is all but meaningless to a new Ireland, though. They’ve beaten everybody. They’ve won ten Tests in a row. Here’s a list of players who had no part in peaking too early four years ago given that none of them were in Joe Schmidt’s squad. Dan Sheehan and Rónan Kelleher (hookers), Finlay Bealham and Tom O’Toole (props), Ryan Baird (lock), Caelan Doris (No 8), Jamison Gibson-Park, Craig Casey (scrum-halves), Ross Byrne (fly-half), Mack Hansen, James Lowe (wings), Hugo Keenan (full-back).