Eddie Butler offers five key factors could combine to see the men in green snatch a rare piece of silverware - read his thoughts in the Guardian.
"1. The longevity of John Hayes - "...He does not charge like one in open play or rip up the set pieces, but Hayes is deceptive. The Irish scrum, for example, does not go anywhere. Hasn't for a long time. Opponents target it and Ireland hold firm, Hayes bearing the brunt of their weight.
"2. The coach's choice of lieutenants - "...Declan Kidney has conducted a revolution by stealth, but he has transformed Ireland. First, in the summer of 2008, he constructed his coaching team...and he has selected shrewdly on the field, keeping Brian O'Driscoll as captain when the centre appeared a spent force, bringing on Tomas O'Leary, Stephen Ferris, Rob Kearney and Luke Fitzgerald, and always with his Munster pack as his rock.
"3. The rebirth of Brian O'Driscoll - "...Overweight and off the pace mentally, the career of Ireland's leading try scorer was going only one way...In one of the most memorable comebacks of the professional game, O'Driscoll has reinvented himself: lean, responsible and sparkling.
"4. The back five of the pack - "...Ireland's pack still has a single-strain monopoly about it, but a selective programme has let others into the Munster herd.
"5. 5 The dancing Mr D'Arcy - "...The 29-year-old is more than simply well-balanced and tricky in tight spaces; he brings a bit of attitude to the centre, a feistiness that contrasts with Wallace's seriousness and Brian O'Driscoll's new-found fatherliness."
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