Give us games to remember

THE eyes of the rugby world will be firmly focused on New Zealand — the country as much as its famed All Blacks — over the course of the next seven weeks as only the seventh World Cup ever played will bescrutinised in minute detail.

Of the three tournaments staged since the advent of professionalism — 1999, 2003 and 2007 — only the Australian version eight years ago, won by England, lives in the memory. The 1999 event introduced the concept of massed defence when Australia strolled to victory, conceding only one try on the way — and that when their second string encountered the USA in Thomond Park. They were the first international side to introduce a full-time defence coach and the results, if not the spectacle, was dire to watch. Only that magnificent semi-final, when the French overturned a 14-point deficit to beat New Zealand to record a shock 43-31 win in a classic, managed to save the tournament.

The 2003 World Cup in Australia stands out as much for the magnificence with which it was organised by the sports-mad Aussies as for the quality of the rugby. It was truly memorable. France, however, four years ago was not only a nightmare from an Irish point of view, given what transpired for Eddie O’Sullivan’s men, but was also shocking to watch.