It's one year out from the Rugby World Cup and the Howler countdown clock has been turned on - ticking remorselessly towards next year's Halloween Quarter Final. Will our strange failure to reach a semi final continue beyond 2027? Or is now the time that we drive a stake into the heart of the beast that has stalked Ireland's RWC experience for four decades? 

James Tracy talks to Ger about today's squad announcement and what it tells us about Andy Farrell's plans. Looking back at our 40 years of World Cup anguish are Gordon D'Arcy, Nick Popplewell and Tom English. Their horror stories include Bayonne players lubing up their fingers so they can stick them into unmentionable parts of the 07 squad; getting beaten by French players spotted smoking and drinking an hour before the game; and the 95 players failing to recognise the giant Jonah Lomu in a lift, shortly before he crushed them in a Johannesburg pool match.

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