Ireland coming nicely to the boil

The opening act of Ireland’s World Cup Pool D campaign was brought to a neat conclusion in north London last night - now is the time to move into the meat of the drama.

Two bonus-point victories, 13 tries scored and 30 players gainfully employed in beating Canada and Romania on successive weekends, while serious group rivals Italy and France look far from polished articles. No wonder Romania boss Lynn Howells declared opposite number Joe Schmidt’s outfit as having all the ability to win the World Cup.

The plot is simmering nicely, then, with Italy next on the horizon as Ireland continue to build towards their final and most meaningful clash of the qualifying phase, that showdown with the French in Cardiff on October 11.