This one’s going down to the wire

By Donal Lenihan

The minimum expectation is a place in the quarter-finals, with many predicting advancement to the semi-finals for the first time. The preparation, which over the past four months alone has seen the squad undertake training in such diverse locations as Poland and Bilbao, will now be put to the ultimate test.

The Pool A game against Argentina tomorrow has huge implications for Irish rugby. After the humiliating exit to the Pumas in the 1999 quarter-final play-off, the IRFU invested heavily in the national side to ensure that such an event would not reoccur. At a time when the union is encountering huge financial constraints, the investment in the national side demands a quarter-final slot as a minimum.