French loom large on Irish horizon

World Cup year in any sport always adds an extra buzz of anticipation and for all the off-pitch political shenanigans which threaten the very future of the game, this still makes 1999 a reason to party.

Beginning with the Five Nations Championship in February and concluding with the World Cup in October, Ireland will be play at least 11 internationals in 1999 and possibly as many as 13 in the calendar year.

Aside from the four championship games, the subsequent friendly against Italy in April, the two summer tests against Australia Down Under, a World Cup warm-up test at home to Argentina and the three Cup pool games in Dublin, there could well be a play-off and a quarter-final as well.

It would be tempting fate to go any further. Suffice to say that were it to pan out that way, then the year could both begin and end with games against France in Dublin. The championship opener is against the '97 and '98 Grand Slam winners in Dublin, and were Ireland to progress to the quarter-finals of the World Cup as pool E runners-up behind Australia, their likeliest opponents in the last eight would be France - the likely Pool C winners - at Lansdowne Road again.

Although Australia replace South Africa as Ireland's most regular opponents this year, the French loom largest on the horizon. One man better equipped than most to ascertain France's well-being in February and October is Jeremy Davidson, currently residing in and playing for Castres.

"I've only realised since I've been here the depth of players they've got. Week-in, week-out, there are brilliant second rows playing against you. It just makes you realise that France could pick about four or five teams that would beat any of the other teams in the Five Nations.

"So it's fairly ominous, but looking at the Irish squad now the pack of forwards could compete against anyone in world rugby. And I think if we play well against them up front and get stuck into them, as we did last year, we could definitely pose a few threats to them."

Ireland have not won their Five Nations opener in over a decade, but the theory goes that if there is a good time to be playing the French, then first up and at home is probably it. Davidson concurs.

"Definitely, definitely. They don't travel too well traditionally and I think whenever they have to come over to Dublin with wet, rainy weather, I think they won't be too happy. They'll just be looking to get that game out of the way and move on to bigger fish."

Davidson believes France generally gel better as tournaments progress and come the World Cup, they "should get through their pool fairly easily and in the final stages they could do very well this year".

Forced to choose a World Cup winner, though, Davidson plumps for "the All Blacks or South Africa again".

As for Ireland's prospects in 1999, even a fourth place finish would represent an improvement on three successive wooden spoons, but Davidson prefers to set our sights higher.

"I'd literally be hoping, if I was in the squad obviously, three wins in the Five Nations. It's about time we really did something and stop talking about the dawn of Irish rugby and then it never really appears. A couple of good games and we still don't get the victory. Hopefully we can get three wins this year, although we can't be going in too complacent, because whenever we're built up to do well we often end up in last position.

"I think we have to set our sights on playing well in each game and taking it game by game. We're playing more to our strengths than we've done before."

In any event, World Cup year is adding extra excitement to every player. "It's sort of like a Lions year. People just train harder and harder than they ever have done. I haven't played in a World Cup before and my New Year's resolution is to be completely professional and to really take it easy the whole year until the World Cup comes around. I really want to play in my first World Cup and I want to make it a good one."

Though "loving it" in his new abode, Davidson says he doesn't intend spending more than a year or two in France. "I really want to get back to Ireland and play in the provincial set-up again. It's hard to watch Ulster doing so well in the European Cup. I'd love to be out there."

Seven or eight games for Castres, and just one league game, haven't given him too many pleasant recollections in a trying and frustrating 1998, mostly spent recovering from his cruciate knee ligament injury. "I don't want to look back on it, to tell you the truth. Not playing for Ireland in the Five Nations was the worst thing that ever happened to me. I just want to think of the future."

Still, Davidson would prefer not to go public with his personal targets for the year ahead. "I just want to be back in the Irish squad and play very well, because there's such a big Irish squad at the minute that you just have to take if from there."