In his column in the Sydney Morning Herald, England fly-half Toby Flood admits that Ireland's victory over Australia last weekend has presented the northern hemisphere's finest with a glorious opportunity to reach the World Cup final.
"Ireland's sensational victory over Australia has made the draw extremely interesting for all the northern hemisphere sides.
"It almost guarantees that there will be a northern presence in the World Cup final. Ireland look destined to meet Wales in the quarter-finals, if they win their pool by defeating Italy in their last game, and Wales finish second in theirs behind South Africa.
"If we can defeat Romania on Saturday, then we or Scotland are likely to face France or New Zealand in the quarter-finals, with the winners likely to meet either Ireland or Wales in the semis.
"Effectively, in a single stroke, Ireland have transformed the battle for a place in the final into a mini-Six Nations tournament. We are fully aware of both the opportunity and risk that scenario brings for us.
"As reigning Six Nations champions, we have already beaten Scotland and France at Twickenham this year. We lost the grand slam by going down to Ireland in Dublin before reversing that result in our final warm-up game. As for Wales, this year we have played three, won two and lost one against them."
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