Peter Jackson: Officials turn a blind eye in miserable end to Ireland’s reign

When the Ireland management invited Marvin Hagler to give their players a fighting talk, The Marvellous One voiced fears for their collective safety.

“In the ring, you know the punches will come from one opponent,” he told me way back then. “But on the rugby field, you’re gonna get hit by 15 opponents and they’re coming at you like crazy from all angles. And a lotta the time you don’t see them coming ‘cos you can’t.”

Ireland, then in the final countdown to the 2003 World Cup, had flown him in from his home near Milan for the day to give their squad a rough idea of what it takes to be a world-beater in a punishing trade.