Ireland want to finish in way they wished they’d started

Such has been Ireland’s rise in prominence on the world rugby stage these past six years under Joe Schmidt that their days as party poopers are long gone. The one-off big performance to spoil a rival’s ambitions have given way to a higher standard and more positive motivations.

Which is why, in the Ireland camp, today’s Guinness Six Nations endgame in Cardiff will have nothing to do with stopping Wales in their quest to send head coach Warren Gatland off from the championship with the third Grand Slam of his 11-year tenure; any more than this is about closing the tournament’s chapters on the careers of both Schmidt and team captain Rory Best.