Irish stars must believe miracle is possible

IN my travels over the last three weeks I’ve come across a number of talking-points in this World Cup, not least the outstanding performances by a number of the lesser-known teams.

Tonga are still in with a chance of qualifying, all they have to do is win their head-to-head with England next weekend; Samoa have also shown up well in the same group, Fiji have made it hard for both Australia and — especially — Wales, while the likes of Japan, Romania, Portugal, Georgia and Namibia have all won friends and admirers.

And yet, if the IRB has its way, four of those teams will not have any part to play in the RWC 2011 in New Zealand which is a shame.