Ireland Profile

Colours: Green
Honours: Five Nations Grand Slam (1948), Five Nations (1932, 1935, 1949, 1951, 1974, 1982, 1983, 1985), Four Nations (1888, 1894, 1906).

Coach: Eddie O'Sullivan took over the Ireland reins after the departure of successful Kiwi Warren Gatland and the canny Irishman has continued to build on the solid foundations brought about by the success of Ireland's provincial teams in European and Celtic competition. The former Ireland Under-21 and Connacht coach was an able lieutenant in the Gatland regime, and with former Munster coach Declan Kidney now as his right-hand man, has continued a culture of success within the camp.

Captain: Star centre Brian O'Driscoll was appointed to lead Ireland after the retirement of legendary hooker Keith Wood after the 2003 RWC. Probably the best backline player in world rugby, 'BOD' has shown before that captaincy brings out the best in his play, which could only be a good thing for Irish rugby. He is hot favourite to be the next British and Irish Lions captain.

Player(s) to watch: For arguably the most effective strike-runner in the world game, look no further than captain and outside centre Brian O'Driscoll, who has a talent of finding acres of space in even the most congested midfields. Up front, Paul O'Connell is a force to be reckoned with at lock, while bruising No.8 Anthony Foley is the chief enforcer.

Profile: Despite having relatively low playing numbers, Irish rugby has a long and proud rugby tradition and, interestingly, is one of the few sports which unites northern and southern Ireland with the national team selected from players on both sides of the border.

But Ireland have earned the tag of perennial underachievers, with pre-season optimism frequently ending in disappointment - as happened during 1999 World Cup when the team failed to make it to the quarter-finals after losing to Argentina.

In recent years Ireland's strength in depth has improved markedly and the presence of Brian O'Driscoll ensures that interest amongst the young remains high, and the traditional forward-based game employed by the team has given way to a far more exciting, 15-man approach, a style mirrored by Ireland's leading provinces, Munster, Leinster and Ulster, ensuring that the national team are slowly climbing their way up the world rankings.

Irish eyes were smiling after the greens secured the Triple Crown in 2004 - their first since 1949 - puncuating England's 22-match winning streak at Twickenham in the process.