Caveats come with hosting global events like World Cup

Dublin in the lunar light of a raw dawn last Friday. I was up early in the capital for a Sport for Business gig looking ahead to the year to come, and kudos to Rob Hartnett and Mick O’Keeffe for a smooth operation at the unearthly hour (a fact-checker writes: 8.05am is nobody’s idea of ‘unearthly’, Michael).

Anyway, Hugo McNeill gave a seriously impressive interview on the stage about Ireland’s Rugby World Cup bid — how attractive Ireland was as a venue, the support of the GAA, the potential involvement of the diaspora, and the strength of the competition from France, in particular.

The first time I saw McNeill in the flesh was not when he was terrorising opposing international rugby defences in the eighties, but a few years after his playing career.