What can be said at this early stage of a Rugby World Cup campaign?
This is my fifth Rugby World Cup and the one thing you can be certain of is that by the time the Webb Ellis trophy is being lifted by the winning captain on 31 October, this phase of the tournament will be long forgotten.
That said, when I talk to people I probably get asked about the mood in camp as much as anything else.
Honestly? There really are plenty of things to be positive about. From a purely Irish perspective, everything has gone very smoothly both on the pitch and off.
‘Attention to detail’ is a phrase that has attached it to Joe Schmidt’s Ireland. No matter what happens as we move through the next five weeks, you can only say that is it true of Schmidt and the entire supporting cast. They have managed to create a very strong environment, with a very welcome freshness and positive energy about the Irish camp.
A tournament like this means teams will spend plenty of time together. Ireland have adapted to that by bringing the players together for a few days and then breaking off to their provinces, dipping their toe into the World Cup atmosphere but also getting crucial rest and recovery in – both physical and mental.
They did not go down the route of a lengthy training camp in unfamiliar surroundings and so far, that looks to have paid off. The mood, the humour and the togetherness in this camp is obvious to anyone following the team. You can see it just from watching the players as they make their way around the place or down around the training where there is plenty of humour and joking on display.
There is that sense of close relationships and unity that you usually see with highly successful club sides.
Balanced against that is a real seriousness, a clarity and a steely determination, about this Irish set-up.
They know when they go to the gym or out on the training pitch that there is work to do and everything is business-like and purposeful right from Schmidt all the way down.
One thing you do get from speaking to various different players is the importance the players put on the relationship between themselves and the fans. The support at a Rugby World Cup is completely different to what you get any other time.
It is a special time for rugby and for the nations lucky enough to be involved. It feels as though something very tribal happening, perhaps that sense the whole world is watching. For whatever reason, people have come to support Ireland from all over the UK, Europe and further afield.
Irish people and Irish stories
The crown at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday was 90% Irish, with all kinds of different stories and backgrounds. One example was the man I spoke to from Manchester, where he works as an engineer. He told me his parents were from Ireland and that he just got a feeling he wanted to be in Cardiff to be part of it so he got a ticket and came down. That type of story is repeated all around the stadium.
It all taps into something and from talking to the everyone involved in the squad, they were blown away by the support in Cardiff and the passion of the fans.
It is all quite a big contrast with the last world cup that took place in the northern hemisphere. At France 2007, a few little details went astray in the build-up. For example, the chosen hotel in Bordeaux wasn’t ready so Ireland ended up in an industrial park on the outskirts of town. That and a few other things going wrong seemed to lead to a staleness in the camp. Meanwhile, there was a lot of talk back home about different players and about bust-ups in camp – none of it was true, but it had a very demoralising effect on everybody.
However this tournament goes, you can only say that it is very different this time.
Special atmosphere
Broadening the lens a touch, you have to say the tournament itself – some issues with trains in Cardiff aside – has been fantastically well run. The response of people all over the UK, some of whom might never have shown an interest in rugby before, has been fantastic.
Ireland are now at St George's Park in Burton-On-Trent where, having dipped their toe in the World Cup atmosphere in Cardiff, they are resting and recuperating ahead of Sunday's meeting with Romania.
I was at the Irish capping ceremony in Burton town hall during the week and the welcome from the people there was incredible. They created a really special atmosphere for the visiting party, so much so that it felt as though the ceremony was being held in an Irish town. Needless to say, they told us that if England can’t do it, Ireland are their second team!
Another example of how this tournament is reaching different parts of the community here in the UK, at home in Ireland and all around the world among the Irish diaspora.
It’s a wonderful atmosphere and with rumours about that Wembley could be full on Sunday, which will be a tough encounter based on the way they put it up to France on Wednesday, it looks set to continue for another week or two at least.
