Time for Ireland to sprinkle the stardust

If the London Olympics of four years ago is the yardstick by which the Rugby World Cup is to be judged then the tournament organisers have set themselves an incredibly high standard.

The Rainbow World Cup, hosted by South Africa in 1995, will always be special for the inspired manner with which Nelson Mandela used a sport, seen by the vast majority of his country’s population as elitist, as a unifying force when adopting the “one team-one country” mantra.

In pure rugby terms, Australia 2003 and New Zealand 2011 were magnificent in so many ways but each tournament tends to take on a life of its own. Over the next seven weeks we are set for another rugby extravaganza, hopefully one with a difference in that at least six international squads enter the fray harbouring genuine hope and belief that they can contest for ultimate honours.