ROTORUA was great while it lasted but the smell from the sulphuric geezers is something I am glad to have left behind.

FOR some it’s a match to get out of the way, for others it could be the entirety of their World Cup campaign.

THE World Cup has been turned on its head and Ireland are the talk of New Zealand.

BY the time you read this I will have landed in Auckland after a stifling 36-hour trek with stopovers in London, Bangkok and Sydney.

BEFORE we move onto the mouthwatering prospect of a spectacular season finale in Thomond Park on Saturday, I have to go back to what proved a truly absorbing contest in Cardiff last weekend.

IT IS a measure of the Irish impact on the Heineken Cup that Leinster’s appearance in the decider in Cardiff on Saturday marks the seventh by an Irish side in the competition’s 16-year history.

All eyes are now firmly on the prize as the season reaches its zenith over the next few weeks, writes Donal Lenihan

Donal Lenihan looks at the Irish powerhouses and sees one squad primed to build on European success, while the other requires major surgery as cracks start to show.

Where the clash will be won and lost