Swansea: July 23rd to July 30th: There was an incident in Swansea where I nearly drowned. There were high waves and I was on a rock, and we were all just messing about. I was coming out of the water when a big wave - I didn't even see it - hit me from behind and took me back out to the sea.

I was panicking and thinking: "This is it. The end." I was getting bashed against the rocks and out again. It didn't matter how strong I was. It was just that spot at the end of the rock. It happened so quickly. The lads saw me but the rocks were so sharp that it was very difficult to move quickly and there was very little they could do, bar jumping into the water with me and being in the exact same position.

So it was up to myself and after a while I was completely panicked out. All I wanted to be was back on dry land. "This can't be happening," I thought.

But I got it together and said to myself: "I'm not prepared to go right here. There's plenty more in me." Maybe the World Cup ambition was driving me. The waves calmed down again and I was able to swim back ashore.

It was another great reminder as to how important life is, and how sometimes we take it for granted, and how great it is just to be alive.

I read in the papers the next day how a guy died trying to rescue a swimmer that same day, in Swansea in the same area. The same day.

Earlier in July: Indonesia, Bali and Turkey: I'd only been back in the game for four months and then I had a month off. I went with a few of the lads to Indonesia and Bali. It was purely relaxation and away from rugby for a week.

Monsoon conditions for one night - unbelievable. They say it comes down for an hour once a day.

Good weather and scuba diving.

Then I went to Turkey for two weeks with my girlfriend. I didn't think of anything except where I was. I've never had that experience before: nothing else.

I was just completely engrossed in my holiday.

Wicklow: Army Camp, July 17th/18th: The Leinster lads had been back in training a good while by now. I'd done a little bit of soccer and running in Turkey. In that heat, even standing was good exercise. I'd just come back from holidays and the lads were off to army camp. I'd done it before in Sandhurst army base with London Irish where we learnt how to survive in the field without even the most meagre of equipment.

One lesson on feeding included killing, defeathering and gutting chickens!

For the Wicklow course we were told to bring golf gear. We thought we were going to stay down in the Glenview Hotel and chill out for a weekend, a game of golf after a hard week's training. Great.

We turned up and we were told we'd one phone call to make, to tell our loved ones where we were going. "And then you're to bring one set of clothes, a pair of runners. Dump all your gear in this locker, and that's it. They're gone."

I couldn't ring anybody for two days and the lads were doing the army course in golf shoes and plus fours. The works, like.

Camouflaged down to the ankles, with muck on our faces, and luminous white shoes which crunched along the ground when you were meant to be hiding. We were stung badly. It's a great way of toughening up the group mentally. There's a lack of sleep - you sleep outdoors in not the greatest weather conditions, trampling around the mud. You get tired, but no bullshit, taking it seriously, taking responsibility and becoming the leader when you're tired, and getting through it.

Cork: August 7th - Munster v Leinster: After Swansea, the weeks' build-up to the Munster game was pretty good. Everything was positive. We had set out a gameplan for ourselves. We went out and played quite well. Our aggression was there and we were up for the game. But I think individuals let themselves down, including myself.

It was a tight battle and any time we got loose ball we did well, but we just couldn't get any decent, loose fast ball. They just kept drilling us and drilling us, and forged a result.

Friday the 13th - Leinster v Ulster: After losing the Munster game a few fingers were pointed. The Ulster game was again a game we could easily have won. Briano (O'Driscoll), or God, as he's called, could easily have come up with a magic save at the end of the game.

I was in for a try myself and dropped the bloody thing. I took an inside pass, was through the front line and was straight in for a try. I thought I was about to get clobbered, I heard Trev (Trevor Brennan) behind, so, not good from a rugby point of view, I was in two minds. Will I pass or will I not?

As I was turned to pass I got a good hit across the elbow and the ribs, and I knocked the bloody ball on. Had I just gone for the line and been selfish, I probably could have got a nice try under the sticks.

Cork And Galway: August 16th to 21st - Connacht v Ireland: Mostly fitness testing, with a huge squad, before the World Cup 30 was finalised. The bleep test for me wasn't going to be too much of an issue but I found out afterwards that I would have got into trouble had I not increased my max bench lift. But I got to the required level anyhow.

We made a few changes at the right time and their impact was enough to change the game.

I didn't play well. I got a little bit frustrated with what was going on in the rucks which perhaps wasn't visible to everyone. There was a lot of stuff I couldn't believe was being allowed by the referee. It changed the game because we couldn't get any quick ball.

I have to give credit to Alan Quinlan and Dave Wallace, who sat on the ball very well. Completely illegal, and I had many disputes with the pair of them. Nice hotel.

August 28th: Ireland 32, Argentina 24: I got dropped. Whether or not it was a case of that or rotating the second rows I don't know, but it really did knock me into gear. For the first time I realised guys were putting in more than I was. For me it was a positive week.

We trained hard and communicated well. We really worked hard on certain areas. We'd watched the Leinster-Argentina game, and we saw exactly where they were strong and where they were weak.

We worked specifically on them and you could see that in the game, where our moves just worked perfectly. It shows the class of players that we have.

Due to the amount of conditioning we were doing at the time, we probably tired in the last 10 or 15 minutes. It was quite funny to see Trevor stepping in between the scrums as peacemaker. "Settle down there, take it easy." It even got the crowd roaring. One of the moments of the season.

The squad was announced. Contracts were then signed. For a World Cup any man would play for nothing, but it's a professional game so it's nice to make a few quid out of it as well.

September 3rd: Leinster v Connacht: God (O'Driscoll) saved us. He did it in the Ulster game, the exact same thing, only this time the ball bounced more kindly for him and he scored a try in the 84th minute.

We always knew it was going to be a dogfight. Our confidence was low. Initially, once we realised we were in a game guys started getting a little worried. When a guy's confidence is low even the best players look average.

We got the win and that's what was important. No matter if we'd won by 30 points, then it would have been described as a false result.

God got plenty of hugs and kisses. I think I even kissed his feet, and I think we sang He Is Lord. He's a great bloke, takes it so well. He has a good head; he's always got a happy face on him. He'll have a big World Cup.

September 10th: Munster v Ireland: We started off quite well, but they scored a soft try - bad defensive errors - and then they were in the game. As the game progressed they realised there was something on the cards for them.

Initially the referee was blowing them up when Alan Quinlan was lying on the ground. Excellent we thought, this will free up the game and we'll beat these guys. But then the crowd got on the referee's back, and suddenly Quinlan was allowed do his thing. I had such rows with him on the pitch.

Anyway, they got the result. Another huge scalp for Munster. They'd taken the All Blacks, the Wallabies and now Ireland.

Not good for spirit building, though. We'd even had a positivity management consultant guy in and he made us realise that we were quite negative.

He asked us "who expects to win the World Cup?" which, admittedly, is not quite the same thing as "who believes you can win the World Cup?" Only four or five of us put our hands up, but he instilled some positive thinking.

Belfast: September 19th - Ulster v Ireland: The hotel was four star but you could peel off two of the stars quite easily. There were renovations going on and on the day before the game there were buckets on the stairs because the rain was pouring in.

We had some really good training sessions. Everyone was really on fire. The match was a bit disappointing, we really did expect to play better.

The weather didn't help, but we won the game. But by having had these tough contests, it's put it up to us. Last week was no contact; weights and running. Clear the head, get away from the squad and come back fresh this week.

We'll win against the US. I know Eddie O'Sullivan, the US assistant coach, is a good coach, but we're not taking anything less than a win. We'll enjoy the battle against Australia, and then against Romania we'll take nothing less than a win.

Depending where we are then, whether it's in Cardiff to play Wales, or in France for a play-off and then a huge game back in Dublin, it doesn't matter, we're expecting to win.

We want to go further than any Irish team has gone before. That's our motto.

(In an interview with Gerry Thornley)