Statistically speaking, all World Cups are an exercise in misery. Twenty teams arrived in France with a dream, but only one of them will lift the trophy. There is no major sporting competition that comes with favourable odds but every team carries on hoping that this will be their time.
The basic maths, of course, will be no consolation to Ireland’s fans after the devastating quarter-final defeat by the All Blacks in Paris on Saturday night. Expectation had never been higher – on the streets of the French capital, rammed with tens of thousands of exuberant green-clad supporters, or in the cities, towns and villages back home. Consequently, the sense of crushing disappointment has never been more profound.
