Part 2: Paean to the Irish men's rugby team

At the final whistle against Australia last weekend

I watched the Irish rugby team sweep aside South Africa and, more tightly, Australia in recent weeks to reach the heights of third ranked in the world behind only the All-Blacks and Springboks. They are in essence my favourite team in any sport to watch at the moment.

I've followed this team closely for a decade, and with much of the core having been together now for five years or so, Ireland, with a new-found squad depth, looks as well situated for success at next year's World Cup than ever. Ironically this positioning comes less than a season after the retirement of their greatest ever impact player, Brian O'Driscoll.

My enthusiasm for the sport of rugby, which has burned consistently bright this past decade, comes down to many of the reasons I've been turned off football. The coverage is not consistently overblown. I don't care what Sky Sports adverts say, a Swansea-QPR, Aston Villa-Norwich double header is not a 'Super Sunday' of sport.

By contrast the five weekends of the 6 Nations ARE huge, genuine highlights of the sporting calendar. The familiar announcing crews on RTE and BBC are a welcome part of it. The players, while still professional athletes, aren't on six figures a week pay packets. They epitomize my enjoyment of home grown talent to root for.

In the Irish rugby case, it is almost literally so. Rugby in Ireland, like in Canada, is a fairly small world, dominated by a few schools and areas. I've come across Irish mates who were once school kids with Jamie Heaslip or Rob Kearney. I went on a date last year with a girl who was at Methody with Paddy Jackson and Craig Gilroy.

Like the way hockey used to be when the Leafs and Habs drew almost exclusively from their respective constituencies, rugby players follow that model more than any other current major sport I can think of.

Dublin and Belfast schoolboys, and Limerick and Cork men play for Leinster, Ulster, and Munster respectively. Kiwi's from that great pipeline of Christchurch play for the Crusaders; Afrikaaner's from Pretoria play for the Bulls.

Conor Murray at scrum half has come on greatly

[Note: this next bit will really only interest those who follow rugby]

For the current robust form of the Irish team much has been made of the uber professional approach of Kiwi head coach Joe Schmidt, who previously led Leinster to two Heineken Cups. I was only ever coached at an excessively amateur level, so in eyeballing player's performances for analysis I am want to fail to pick up some of the hard grafting in the scrum or maul.

Paul O'Connell's 'leading from the front' mentality, not only in recent weeks, but throughout his illustrious career gives Ireland a very strong on-field and locker room general in advance of the World Cup. An injury to the man who will be 36 then would be devastating.

Rory Best still has his line out wobbles, but the Ulster captain's carrying and break down play is in the best shape of his long career. Mike Ross looks indispensable at 3, and Ireland need a competent backup in case he goes down in the heat of the battle; as witnessed when Tom Court couldn't pack down at tighthead and England obliterated the scrum in 2012.

On the other side, Cian Healy's freakish ball carrying talents make him one of the preeminent props in the game. Jack McGrath's mammoth tackling, and a good shift from Dave Kilcoyne shows there is relief in depth at loosehead.

In the backrow Jamie Heaslip picks himself as a tireless war horse. He's come in for some flak for no longer being the ball carrying menace he was when he rose to prominence in the Grand Slam and Lions year of 2009. But that's five years ago and, when healthy, much of the line breaking load has been delegated for both Ireland and Leinster to Sean O'Brien. At blindside Peter O'Mahony is often lionized, and while I'm not sure he's yet a superstar, he does fill the enforcer role left vacated by the injury induced retirement of Stephen Ferris.



In the halfbacks Conor Murray and Jonathan Sexton, with all respect to Stringer and ROG, are likely the two best I've seen with Ireland. Murray's box kicking has improved dramatically, while Sexton is assuredly the premier stand-off in the northern hemisphere.

This year's Six Nations will show whether Gordon D'Arcy still has the legs to be a starter. Though without his long time partner, D'Arcy's work in tackling and generating turnovers is important. The little I've heard of young Robbie Henshaw, it sounds like he might be of the same ilk. It is interesting how much stronger the side would be for the World Cup in Drico had held on, but I gather that his body was finally done after years of taking a pounding.

Rob Kearney under the high ball

Rob Kearney's aerial prowess alone makes him one of the iconic full backs in world rugby and he seems to have returned to form after being a reserve player on the last Lions tour. On the wings, there is stiff competition to line up opposite Tommy Bowe. I like his clubmate Andrew Trimble as a stout defender and good finisher. Simon Zebo or Craig Gilroy would be the bolter's choice, and that still leaves blooded test international's like Keith Earls, Fergus McFadden, Dave Kearney and Luke Fitzgerald. I might be inclined to move Bowe to 13 as he played with the Ospreys and Lions and partner Henshaw in midfield.