If Ireland were judged solely on their performance in the Six Nations championship against England earlier this year, then having them in the "Hopefuls" section of our Rugby World Cup preview would clearly be way wide of the mark.
On that form, they should have been among the contenders, at worst, if not in with the top-ranked group of favourites, along with Australia and New Zealand.
In fact, if Declan Kidney's side could turn a tap and run the type of form they showed in that victory in Dublin, which came against an England side that won the Six Nations title, they might as well collect the Webb Ellis Cup now.
So where has it all gone wrong?
Deeming them to be outsiders at the World Cup is fair, judging by their awful pre-tournament displays in suffering four consecutive defeats.
To all intents and purposes, those matches were little more than tune-ups, and Brian O'Driscoll, the Ireland captain, said his side bear no scars from those games ahead of the proper competition.
Mentally, perhaps not, but physically there were some major wounds inflicted.
The loss of David Wallace, in particular, to injury during the match against England may be one from that they cannot recover.
The openside flanker has typified the extremes of his country's contrasting fortunes this year.
He was Ireland's standout performer in that stunning Six Nations victory in March. Had he maintained that course, he would unquestionably have been one of the stars of the World Cup.
However, as the wheels started to creak on his side's final preparations, he was hit with a knockout blow, in the sizeable form of Manu Tuilagi, the bulldozing England centre.
The projected six-month recuperation required following his knee injury could cost Wallace, now aged 35, his career, not just his final chance to shine on the world stage.
Going by recent history - six defeats in their past eight matches - the outlook seems bleak enough.
Then factor in Ireland's overall World Cup record, and you start to wonder why they bothered making the flight to New Zealand at all.
Their history at rugby's flagship tournament is not becoming of one of rugby's leading nations.
They have not been past the quarter-final stage in the six World Cups to date.
Four years ago, they were woeful, stumbling out in the first round after pool defeats to France and Argentina. Their effort reached its nadir when they only just managed to avoid a defeat against unheralded Georgia.
On arrival in New Zealand, O'Driscoll said he was happy enough with the build-up, and Kidney refused to debate past failures, but at least Donncha O'Callaghan, the second-row forward, addressed the point.
He said Ireland did have a habit in the past for cowering under pressure in the biggest matches, but pointed to the 2009 Six Nations grand slam decider against Wales as a reason to be cheerful.
"Big games are the highlight of your career, or the most scarring event," O'Callaghan was quoted as saying last week.
"Before people thought Irish teams choke at big events, but beating Wales was the result that overturned that perception."
Being labelled chokers implies there were great expectations on them in the first place, as there were ahead of that one-off match in Cardiff in 2009.
Despite having largely the same pool of exceptional players now as they did back then, the expectations on them ahead of the World Cup have been tempered.
Perhaps that is all part of the plan.
pradley@thenational.ae
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The years Ramadan fell in May
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
match info
Maratha Arabians 138-2
C Lynn 91*, A Lyth 20, B Laughlin 1-15
Team Abu Dhabi 114-3
L Wright 40*, L Malinga 0-13, M McClenaghan 1-17
Maratha Arabians won by 24 runs
Abu Dhabi card
5pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 2,400m
5.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh 70,000 2,200m
6pm: Abu Dhabi Fillies Classic Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 1,400m
6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Colts Classic Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 1,400m
7pm: Handicap (PA) Dh85,000 1,600m
7.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,600m
The National selections:
5pm: Valcartier
5.30pm: AF Taraha
6pm: Dhafra
6.30pm: Maqam
7pm: AF Mekhbat
7.30pm: Ezz Al Rawasi
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Result
UAE (S. Tagliabue 90 1') 1-2 Uzbekistan (Shokhruz Norkhonov 48', 86')
The biog
Fatima Al Darmaki is an Emirati widow with three children
She has received 46 certificates of appreciation and excellence throughout her career
She won the 'ideal mother' category at the Minister of Interior Awards for Excellence
Her favourite food is Harees, a slow-cooked porridge-like dish made from boiled wheat berries mixed with chicken
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
