To hell with the omertá! I’m calling it.. Ireland WILL win World Cup

ARE ya nervous yet? Will you have any finger-nails left by 8pm tonight?

For those people who have been living in a cave (well, there still may be a few out Kerry way!), I’m not talking Strictly Come Dancing here.

No, this concerns the small matter of the Rugby World Cup quarter-final showdown between Ireland and New Zealand in Paris this evening.

And when I say ‘small’, I, of course, mean huge, massive, off-the-charts-seismic.

In a world that’s chock full of hyperbole, it’s no exaggeration to say that this is the match that Ireland and its sports-loving public have been anticipating for an eternity.

Greatness awaits.

In years to come, October 14, 2023, will be a date woven into Irish history... should the men in Green prevail, and go on to achieve the ultimate dream of lifting the Rugby World Cup.

We will forever look back on the era before this date as the time when Ireland were sporting small-fry; there to make up the numbers; never quite good enough to claim the biggest prizes.

All being well, we will look back on this day, as the date when all of that changed. When our mentality switched over; when we became winners.

When our inferiority complex was banished forever.

If we win.

Strike that - WHEN we win.

No, I am not going to mention the D word here, the one that rhymes with, er, beat. Or the L word that rhymes with toss.

That’s the language of lo.... er, non-winners.

In doing this, I am well aware that I am breaking the Celtic omertá that has been put on this brilliant Ireland team for the last few years.

Ever since players, coaches, opponents, pundits, fans, and even the dogs in the street realised that Ireland had a genuine chance of winning the 2023 World Cup, this code of silence has remained in place.

Shhhh.

Don’t jinx it.

Don’t say it.

Don’t even think it.

It’s a bizarre phenomenon that has reached all the way through the world of rugby and even into the boundaries of the media.

Don’t - whatever you do - talk up Ireland’s chances.

Well, why the hell not?!

Sure, let’s see, how has that small-town mentality served us so far in the history of Irish sport on the global stage?.

It got us past a few teams at a soccer World Cup, until we came up against a big gun in Italy. And it got us to the verge of Euro 1988 glory, until we came up against a big gun in Netherlands.

See a trend developing here?

Now Ireland are taking on the big guns of the All Blacks in the rugby World Cup, and the nation wants to do the whole ‘poor us’ thing all over again?

No thanks.

Ireland are the best team at this tournament. We beat the reigning champions a few weeks back. We have beaten New Zealand the last two times we played them - and handsomely too. Let’s try unshakable confidence for once, shall we? It might just work.

Not over-confidence. Not cockiness. Just the type of confidence Roy Keane and Ronan O’Gara exude. A calm, straightforward sense that we are the best, and we are about to prove it to the world.

This code of silence lark has had its day. It’s a bit like John Cleese in Fawlty Towers - ‘Don’t mention winning the World Cup, I mentioned it once but I think I got away with it!’

Enough!

Any pundit worth his or her salt has long known Ireland have a great chance of winning this tournament, but nobody has been allowed to breathe a word about it.

Win the World Cup? This little country? Nah.

We’re a nation that adores the underdog tag and refuses to let go of it, no matter how many facts and stats and magnificent performances our team put in.

Let’s have a bit of faith for once in our lives. Trust the players, trust the coach, trust the process.

Don’t be so nervous that it ruins your enjoyment of the greatest team in world rugby proving their mettle.

The fact Ireland are favourites among those shrewd cookies, the bookies, to not just beat the allegedly mighty All Blacks tonight, but to win the whole damn shooting match, should be a balm to any shredded nerves.

But nobody wants to acknowledge it.

Shhh. Say nowt. Don’t get big-headed. Don’t be arrogant. Rein in your ego, and don’t come over all Charlie Big Potatoes. That’s for the English, the French, the South Africans, and, yes, New Zealand.

That is the kind of attitude that has translated into Irish sporting history being one long litany of heroic, or not-so-heroic failures.

Well, I think, in order to break that spell, someone needs to break that omertá. I’m happy for that person to be me.

Read that headline. Take heed of these words I write.

Now is not the time for shrinking violets. Now is the time to stand up and fight for the right to show some confidence in these 15 men.

Ireland are ranked No.1 in the world, are current Grand Slam holders, and New Zealand and South Africa fans and players are afraid of them.

Ireland will win tonight, by at least ten points.

Then they will win the semi-final by 20 points.

Then they will beat France in the final - just.

You heard it here first.