Ireland prop Niamh O'Dowd feels the squad are in a confident state of mind ahead of their Rugby World Cup opener with Japan (Sunday, 12 noon live on RTÉ), backed by the belief of supporters and coaches alike.
Speaking at the squad's media day at the IRFU's High Performance Unit in Blanchardstown, the Wexford native has said that the prior experience of WXV1 from last Autumn will be a massive boost as they look to return to the final four for the first time since 2014.
Ireland defeated the Black Ferns in Vancouver, in the biggest win in Irish rugby in quite some time, with O’Dowd playing a starring role in the victory.
"Knowing that you've literally beaten the world champions, that gives you a huge amount of confidence," O’Dowd said.
"I think that week we had spoken a lot about having belief in ourselves, because before that, I guess as we had headed over, I don't think there was anyone saying that we were going to beat New Zealand, but it was when we were out there.
"It was actually at the end of a lineout session. Our coach Codder (Alex Codling), he just said, 'and that's how we'll beat them, if we get this, this and this right’.
"It was the first time I was like, ‘oh my God, someone actually thinks we can beat them’.
"It just takes a small bit of belief. And then when you're in the game, you're like, ‘oh, we're actually in this. People believe we can beat them'."
Ireland will face Japan, Spain and New Zealand on three consecutive Sundays in the tournament, with O’Dowd hinting that the experience of a WXV tournament, played entirely away from home over a short period, unlike a Six Nations, will benefit this close-knit squad.
"For me going in, I feel like being away for two weeks in Northampton and then going down to Brighton, it'll be actually very similar to when we went to Vancouver," the 25-year-old said.
"You're with your same room-mate for three weeks. You're in the same location for a couple of weeks, so yeah, I do think it's prepped us well, especially WXV1 and being put up against top-tier teams every single week.
"I feel quite comfortable knowing that we've been away in a different location for a long period of time. That side of things won't really faze us."
Ireland played two home warm-up games against Scotland and Canada, winning against their Celtic rivals. However, the result was secondary as players and coaches just wanted to shake off the cobwebs and get back on field.
"To be honest, a lot of us just need to get out there," the Ireland prop, who has 18 caps, said.
"It was long pre-season, sometimes you just need to get out there, play a game. And it's only when you're in a game scenario that you really get those moments, where you're not playing against your own team-mates.
"You need different opposition. I feel like it did check a lot of boxes for us and definitely helped in our preparation.
"I feel much more ready now, having played the two games than I did before that."
Before the panel flew out to England, and instantly upon touching down at Heathrow Airport, there was a relaxed atmosphere surrounding the squad.
From the emotional squad announcement video to the green wave campaign and hours of unique and funny social media content, there’s been a push to the forefront from within the camp.
That has certainly been met by their fans too, and sponsors, creating the sense of a national endeavour across the Irish sea, the type of which casual sports fans in Ireland have long supported.
For O’Dowd, this momentum is hard to describe, but incredibly special.
"We have our whole green wave, and it does really feel like people are getting behind us," O’Dowd said.
"It just feels like everyone's behind us.
"So many people are coming up to you and saying they’re heading over to the New Zealand game or the Japan game or whatever it is.
"The support we've felt this whole summer has been so good. We just can't wait. I feel like it's almost going to be as close to a home World Cup as we can get.
"I just can't wait to see everyone over there. It's going to feel good".
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