Rugby World Cup

So the Rugby World Cup is upon us. I'm not really a rugby fan, although I watch the Six Nations. As long as we beat the English I don't care.

My most memorable World Cup moments, ironically, were in Spain. Watching France v New Zealand in 2007 with a Kiwi and that year's final, England v South Africa with an Englishman. I was supporting England in that game and got a lot of criticism for doing so. In 2011, I went for breakfast with Kiwis, English people and a Scot to watch some of the games.

 Ireland scored a point a minute earlier today and there will be other one-sided games so I wonder, are there too many teams in the group stage? Surely 16 would suffice? 4 groups of 4 and it means no team would have to sit out a match day.

The Irish Examier asked the question the other day, is rugby Ireland's most popular sport? I don't know about that but it is certainly enjoying a period of growth, buoyed by the national team's success.

As for Ireland's chances, we are World Number one, this is our time. The South Africa and Scotland games will be interesting and after that I expect a Quarter Final against New Zealand or France.

Let's see what happens. Will Ireland break their Quarter Final glass ceiling? Over the next few weeks we will find out.


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