Conflicting emotions in and out of the bubble

Major sporting events can do strange things to people. Days blur into weeks and weeks into months and before you know it you are cocooned in a bubble outside of which almost everything else takes on a strangely abstract meaning

Other news and sports pale in comparison, household bills build up on the hallway floor and the lawn turns to jungle.

For the players and management of the 20 teams at the heart of this Rugby World Cup there are few enough release valves. Not for them a spot of gardening or a few nights out with a full-bodied claret or a local IPA. Nor is there the option of flitting over and back across the Irish Sea as many of the Irish journalists working at this tournament are doing.