For years, Irish rugby fans have had to endure endless disappointments, courtesy of their national team. Some came in the form of humiliating defeats, but the most hurtful of all were the false dawns.

Ireland has always managed to produce world-class players, but the problem is not quality, rather quantity. Normally one or two players in the team stand head and shoulders above the rest. But this current crop of players is very different; the backbone and stars of the team all emerged on the international scene around 2000 and have played together for six or seven seasons at the highest level, creating the very formidable current squad.

So what could go wrong? Irish fans who have watched the national team over the years will tell you that the best performances have been achieved when we have been underdogs; the false-dawn teams of the past have capitulated under the pressure of being made favourites.

But this team seems much more prepared in all departments. Coach Eddie O'Sullivan has made his players live comfortably with the pressure of being labelled favourites, but we really will not know how far they have come until more games are played in this season's Six Nations Championship.

Wales was a good test last week and Ireland came through it well. But Sunday's clash with France will be much more telling. Croke Park will be full with 80,000 screaming fans, and after this battle we will get a much better idea if this squad can at last satisfy the Irish fans' hunger for success.

They will be without injured skipper Brian O'Driscoll but if they can beat France then I think they will go on to win the Six Nations. Then Irish fans may just start to dream about the biggest prize of all - the World Cup.