Ireland ready for last push

World Cup news:The final countdown to the Rugby World Cup begins next Monday morning when the Irish squad restart collective training at the University of Limerick. Up to now players have been immersed in a seven-week pre-season, but direct combat for a place in Eddie O'Sullivan's 30-man panel, to be announced on August 12th, can now get under way.

Coming in the wake of Padraig Harrington's achievement at Carnoustie, several Munster players were at Dromoland Castle in Co Clare yesterday for the launch of a three-year sponsorship deal with Adidas, and to a man they paid tribute to the new British Open champion.

They also reflected on the positive connotations it has for Irish sport in general.

"I knew that question was coming," said Ronan O'Gara.

"Win a major and then there'll be talk of a World Cup, but there is no reason why we shouldn't be thinking of these things.

"For years Irish people have always been of the mentality of 'give it a lash', but now we're working as hard as anyone. We have as good resources as anyone. I think we have talented players. We believe in ourselves, so you can see what we can achieve."

As the place-kicker, O'Gara more than any other can relate to the pressure Harrington must have felt in the closing stages of Sunday's Open, but he did note some subtle differences.

"The only thing that differs is the heart rate. If I'm in the 78th minute of a game my heart rate could be up around 190 because of the volume of work you have done. It's about trying to control that and your fatigue elements; while I think golf is obviously a little bit more mental.

"I've been emotional twice this summer. Once when Trevor Halstead left and when Padraig won on Sunday. It was really special as another sports person, I suppose. I was actually up from the TV and I thought he was gone the second time he went into the water on the 18th.

"I suppose it's rare at top level sport to see a second chance, but his up-and-down just shows the character of the man."

How often have you been in that scenario?

"I've been there plenty of times," replied O'Gara. "Everything is going for you, and then you tweak a knee in training and you don't know where you'll be. Sport has a habit of doing that to you. You don't get ahead of yourself."

By the way, O'Gara did tweak a knee last week but sustained only nerve damage. He still expects to take a full part in the squad sessions.

Paul O'Connell carried on the theme and had no problem utilising the confidence of seeing a fellow Irishman excel on a global stage.

"It's definitely an inspiration to Irish guys to see Padraig beating everyone and then saying afterwards he knew all week he was going to win. I love that kind of confidence. To see that in an Irish person is great. It's just an attitude that's beginning to come more and more in Ireland. I think we were always very cap-in-hand and very humble. I hope we never lose that, but I think it's great to have that confidence as well. You saw that in Padraig - he was so modest, but he had that confidence all the time."

When did that mindset become so natural to the Irish sportsman?

"I don't know. Maybe it's because I look for it more, but I see it a lot more now. You see it in Derval O'Rourke: she seems to be ruthless in pursuit of our goals. She apologises to no one.

"Padraig's the same. All these guys, Roy Keane, it's great from an Irish perspective to see these people doing it their own way and doing it better than anyone else in the world."

So it all starts in earnest when the team reconvene on Sunday evening. The accumulation of four years striving to improve on the 2003 World Cup showing, when Ireland was still a second-tier rugby nation.

"Apart from one or two the team is very similar to four years ago," continued O'Connell.

"The World Cup has been something big in our minds all along. Whether we want more to win a Grand Slam or a World Cup I don't know, but definitely because the team has been the same since the last World Cup, it's something that has been in the back of our minds for a long time.

"We go in for our first proper training session next week. I suppose a lot of the sparing has been done in the gym and fitness training. We go into camp, and then its two weeks to the announcement of the squad, so it's going to be a tough. A trial, basically, for two weeks."

u The 2011 World Cup final will be held in New Zealand on the weekend of October 22nd-23rd, the International Rugby Board (IRB) have said. The final will be played at Auckland's Eden Park, the same venue for the inaugural World Cup decider in 1987.

A decision on the exact day of the final will be made during this year's World Cup, to be held in France from September 7th to October 20th.

The IRB said they were still discussing the possibility of reducing the number of competing teams from 20 to 16 to avoid one-sided matches between mis-matched teams.

"It is envisaged a decision on this will be made in October this year," IRB chairman Syd Millar said.