My World Cup column began with my son Bill running in to tell me that there was only one more sleep until the tournament began, and I am writing this week's article a weary child fast asleep in his bed, full of sugar and fun memories of his first Halloween Party at Bruff RFC.
Before he nodded off, he stated that it's only one more sleep until the third place play-off match and two to go until the final.
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Despite an Irish quarter-final exit, he remains fully focused on the decider. Once the wall chart was lost and found - not for the first time over the course of the competition - he filled in the semi-final results with his usual gusto.
According to the sage seven-year-old, the Wales v New Zealand clash in Tokyo Stadium match doesn’t really matter, but the game won't be missed as it serves as an appetiser to the main course on Saturday morning.
I notice that my old club Novocastrians are opening their grounds for the final with breakfast on offer at Sutherland Park.
Isn't rugby just great where we can all find common things to bind if not always to agree completely on?
I spent 10 very happy years in the North East of England where any rivalry between the Irish, Welsh and Scottish contingent at the club always evaporated when any of us played the English.
The Celtic cousins would always band together against the auld enemy.
It was a strange feeling then last Saturday when I found myself willing England on in their victory over New Zealand. How could you not?
They were immense. Maro Itoje goes from strength to strength, while all-action flankers Sam Underhill and Tom Curry are evoking memories of Neil Back and Richard Hill back in the day.
I can only but imagine what is going though the minds of the players involved for the showpiece at Yokohama Stadium, the one last sleep that you want to be over so much so that they can get on with the potential career defining moment.
One man who knows all about World Cup finals is Eddie Jones. Having lost out to England in the 2003 final while coaching Australia, he travelled "with" South Africa in 2007 and apparently helped them in no small way to that victory.
Again I have to just admire the way he goes about his business. He is definitely not to everyone's taste, given his out-spoken and slightly eccentric ways, but my does he take the pressure off his team.
The Australian is more than happy for the focus to be on him and all the while his team are ticking away superbly in the background.
This will be his 50th test as coach of England, though things have not always been as rosy for Jones.
When England lost to Scotland during the 2018 Six Nations, he was heckled by so called supporters on the train and some of the English media wanted him gone from the job. As we know only too well, 18 months is a long time in international rugby and such is the turn around in England team and fortune, that it would be hard to bet against them on Saturday.
Coincidentally, it is roughly 18 months since Rassie Erasmus took over firstly as Director of Rugby in South Africa and then head coach due to the departure of Allister Coetzee.
In his 25 matches in charge, Erasmus too has overseen a transformation in both players and results for his national side. To say the Springboks were at a low ebb when he took charge would be an understatement in the extreme.
Remarkably, they stand on the precipice of greatness once again.
So two master tacticians with contrasting personalities will have their teams fine-tuned to within an inch come kick-off.
I do wonder if the England-New Zealand semi-final can be matched for intensity and effort?
Can England match up against arguably their biggest brawn for brawn competitor that they have met thus far?
I sincerely hope the biggest game in the rugby calendar doesn't turn into a slugfest, with each camp trying to beat the other up before breaking them down.
From a neutral perspective, we would love a free flowing game, where the play-making of Owen Farrell and Handre Pollard comes to the fore and the electric pace and finishing skills of Cheslin Kolbe, Anthony Watson, Makazole Mapimpi and Jonny May is on display.
Of course it matters not what we hope for, and the aesthetics of victory will matter little to the victor.
Bill hopes for a good game and maybe an English win because "he likes Maro Itoje" and his "godmother is from England".
Well my head and my heart go out to my friends in Novocastrians RFC. I hope they are signing all weekend long.
Follow England v South Africa in the Rugby World Cup final (kick-off 9am) this weekend via our live blog on RTE.ie/Sport and the News Now app, or watch live on RTÉ2 from 8am.
