Anyone even remotely interested in rugby will have been swept up in the magnificence of Ireland’s World Cup journey thus far. Andy Farrell’s side have dismantled their group in imperious fashion, overturning the current world champions in a Test match thriller, before cutting through Scotland in relentless swathes of green. This is impressive enough, without taking into account that Ireland is currently on a 17-match unbeaten run.
There is no doubt that the side are full value for their no. 1 ranked status, yet the question on everyone’s lips is whether or not they can beat the three time world champions New Zealand? The mood on the streets spells expectant hopefulness, yet an air of trepidation remains.
When asked who would win between the two teams, the answer was almost unanimous in Ireland’s favour. However, Niall Phelan, aged 21, thinks that the All Blacks will win. He said: “I think that New Zealand will win and that Ireland will bottle it. They will win by 8 points.” In terms of a winning margin, there was much consensus that Saturday’s match would be a one score game. Jack, aged 19 was the only person who went above the 7-point deficit, predicting that Ireland would win by 15.
When it came to choosing a player of the tournament at the close of the group stage, two names were mentioned frequently. The first was Connacht player Bundee Aki, whose local club is Galwegians. The inside centre has been in wonderful attacking form, with the most carries at the competition, along with scoring 4 tries for his country. The other player chosen by Jack, Niall and Julia, aged 18, was captain Johnny Sexton, who has overtaken Ronan O’Gara has Ireland’s top points scorer at the tournament.
The other burning question for supporters is whether or not Ireland can go all the way and claim the Webb Ellis Cup for the first time. Tiernan, aged 80, said: “I think they have a good chance. If they beat the All Blacks, then they should make it to the final. If they have a full team, then they definitely have a good chance of winning it.” Others were not so sure, and predicted the hosts and 2nd ranked team in the world, France. Ray Kelly said: “France will probably win it. With home advantage and with that support they will be very hard to beat.”
Finally, each person was asked what it would mean for the country if these players could bring the trophy back to Ireland. Ray, Julia and Tiernan all agreed that it would be a great boost for morale in the country, and rugby in Ireland in general. Jack and Niall said respectively: “It would be unreal” and “The place would go crazy.”
One woman, who declined to include her name, said: “Every match they win from now on is a bonus, and the players have done us all very proud.”
Ireland vs New Zealand kicks off at 8 o’clock on Saturday the 14th October, and can be viewed on RTE Television.
