Ten months out from the World Cup and belief in the northern hemisphere is just starting to edge in the direction of expectation.
You won’t find anyone shouting it from the rooftops, Europe has been burned way too many times for that in rugby’s greatest tournament.
But as the countdown clock ticks below 300 days to go, Ireland and France have emerged unbeaten from the November window to confirm themselves as the leading two nations in the game.
We have been here before. The Irish topped the rankings going into the last tournament, three years ago, lost to Japan and were crushed under the wheels of the All Black machine in the quarter-finals.
But this time feels different. Whilst the cream of
