“We’re not far away from everything clicking”

JUST one more interminable day to go now before the mother of all Irish derbies, but the highlight of Chris Whitaker’s season, of his entire stay here in Ireland, has already come and gone. His wife Alison gave birth to their third child a few weeks back and the Whitakers now have three delicate, precious buds to nurture in the shapes of Lilly Rose, Jasmine Blossom and, the latest arrival, Poppy Petal.

Three daughters under the age of eight make for “busy times”, he smiles ruefully, but they help put games like tomorrow’s – where phrases and words like “do-or-die’ and “tragic’ tend to be bandied about so freely – into perspective.

“Rugby is one thing,” he says, “but family is family. It’s great.”