‘It’s only going to take one small thing to ignite our form’

ONE killer pass. A surging break upfield. Maybe a thunderous tackle and turnover. That is all it could take for Ireland to come alive and shake off the current blues, with Rob Kearney ready and waiting for the great leap forwards.

There is nothing the full-back nor his team-mates can put their fingers on as game time against New Zealand approaches on Saturday at the Aviva Stadium but there is an intangible sense around the Ireland squad this week that their rugby is about to come good.

That may be in direct contradiction to the consensus of opinion outside of Declan Kidney’s Irish camp following the performances of the past two weekends when Ireland misfired against South Africa and struggled to overcome Samoa.