Ireland
Odds to win: 9/2
Mood in the camp
These really are heady days for Irish rugby, with Leinster holding the Pro14 and Champions Cup titles to go with Ireland’s Grand Slam triumph in this year’s Six Nations. Ireland might have needed one of the great drop goals from Johnny Sexton to get off to a winning start in an exhausting, nerve-shredding win in Paris but they were comprehensive winners over Italy, Wales, Scotland and last of all England at Twickenham, in a breakout tournament for Jacob Stockdale, James Ryan and Dan Leavy. That success was followed with a first series triumph in Australia over three Tests thanks to wins in Melbourne and Sydney. It is no exaggeration to claim that they could be the nearest challengers to New Zealand.
Coach’s conundrum
Nailing down a backup to Conor Murray remains key. Luke Mcgrath, Kieran Marmion and John Cooney have all had their chances under Joe Schmidt but of the three Cooney has started the season in the best form for Ulster, and offers a goal-kicking backup to Sexton. The elephant in the room is the fact that Ireland have never advanced past the quarter-finals at a Rugby World Cup. Four years ago they were knocked out at that stage by Argentina, and anything less than a place in the final four will be unacceptable given their recent success in the Six Nations and against southern hemisphere opponents.
Who can they not do without?
Murray. Replacing arguably the world’s best scrum-half unsurprisingly is not a straightforward process. His tactical kicking is peerless, and both defensively and in attack around the fringes, given his unusually tall height for a scrum-half at 6ft 3in, he packs a punch. His passing often gets overlooked given those many other attributes, but is at an excellent level too.
Who could be their bolter?
One of two Sale Sharks players to swap England for Ireland over the summer, Mike Haley was part of Ireland’s training camp during the summer and qualifies for Ireland through his maternal grandmother. The 24-year-old has featured regularly for Munster early in the season, tasked with replacing Simon Zebo at full-back following his move to join Racing 92 in France, and Haley could offer an alternative at full-back to veteran Rob Kearney.