Former Ireland captain Brian O'Driscoll has expressed his belief that the current crop of players are genuine contenders to win the Rugby World Cup this year.
Ireland defended their Six Nations crown on points difference from England and Wales, and head into the autumn tournament as the leading Northern Hemisphere nation.
O'Driscoll told reporters: "We're playing with a huge amount of confidence, we've got a very distinct understanding of what our strategy is and what our game plan is, and everyone's singing off the same hymn sheet.
"If we can be fortunate with not losing too many players to injury I don't see why we can't find ourselves in a semi-final - all bets are off when you get to that point."
Ireland will meet France, Italy, Romania and Canada in their pool.
