Do not adjust your sets. What you’re seeing is indeed real. It may feel like the world has been turned upside down, but this moment has been coming for a while. Ireland are firm favourites for a Rugby World Cup quarter-final against the All Blacks.
Even a few short years ago it would have been unthinkable, yet now it’s not only fully justified but almost unremarkable. Based on all evidence from this World Cup cycle, your reaction upon hearing the news is probably “Yeah, that sounds about right,” accompanied by a shoulder shrug.
