The Irish Times' Gerry Thornley reports from Ireland's World Cup camp in Queenstown.
"If nothing else, the Ireland squad probably couldn’t have kicked off their 2011 World Cup odyssey better or in a more idyllic backdrop than Queenstown.
"After their grim sequence of four defeats last month, this certainly isn’t Ireland and, according to one Welsh man who has been living here for 18 years, it’s not typical of New Zealand either.
"The adventure capital of the world, where bungee jumping was invented, relies almost exclusively on year-round tourism and accordingly, the 15,000 or so inhabitants are commercially pro-active as well as being artistically creative.
"But like the rest of this “four million stadium”, Queenstown is in a tizzy at the prospect of hosting what is, for all and sundry with a vested interest claim, the third biggest sports event of the year and hence, with no matches per se, all the more so in having the Irish squad start their preparations here."
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