Enda McEvoy's TV View: Don't mention the war as pundits suffer RWC PTSD

Don’t mention the war? It would be nice not to have to but Ireland’s Six Nations opener takes place in the engorging shadow of last autumn’s ill-starred Asian campaign. Yes, we won’t be forgetting the debacle in Vietnam – sorry, I mean Japan – any time soon. The horror, the horror remains fresh in the memory.

If a measure of PTSD is visible at the Aviva, then, it will be no surprise. Schmidt happened – some awful Schmidt, frankly - in the Land of the Rising Sun; fortunately a new regime is in place, with Andy Farrell as head coach, Mike Catt as attack coach, and a chap with the splendid name of Caelan Doris at number eight. Bring on a fresh beginning. Call in those helicopters with their rockets. Turn Wagner up to 11.