What the current Ireland team will achieve, and where this team will eventually stand in comparison to the successful Ireland sides of the past, only the future can reveal. But let it be acknowledged that this team has achieved quite a lot already, and the players and the management deserve great credit for that.

Let us not forget either the great support the side is getting from the parent body and the branches, and also what the clubs of Ireland have contributed. Cast your mind back just a few years, remember the Ireland teams when the vast majority of the players were not playing their rugby in this country. Just take as an example an Ireland team that lined out against Italy in Bologna in December 1997.

That was a time when the then Ireland coach Brian Ashton would not watch AIB League matches. Eleven of that team were not playing their club rugby in this country, some never had played in this country. Eleven of that side were not in the Ireland 22 on duty last Saturday.

Let us move forward to the Ireland team that played against Italy in Dublin in April 1999, that was just a matter of a few months before the World Cup. Eight of that team and two of the replacements who came on were playing their rugby in England. Five of that side had never played in Irish club rugby.

It is very revealing to compare those teams with the side that played against France at Lansdowne Road last Saturday. All but one member of the team that lined out Saturday - centre Rob Henderson - have come through from the clubs of this country.

Girvan Dempsey, Denis Hickie, Brian O'Driscoll, Ronan O'Gara, Peter Stringer, John Hayes, Mick Galwey, Alan Quinlan, Anthony Foley and David Wallace have played all their rugby in this country. Most of those players had the opportunity to go to England, but wisely resisted the overtures and the promises of "untold " riches.

Let us give credit for the fact that the incentive and financial support was on hand to keep the players at home and to bring others back. Those factors have been crucial in Munster's success.

In addition to the 10 named above, Peter Clohessy, apart from a few months with Queensland, has played all his rugby in Ireland. Tyrone Howe, Keith Wood and Malcolm O'Kelly were all established club players in this country before they played in England - Wood was an international. O'Kelly and Howe are now back with Irish clubs.

As stated here before, the advent of the Heineken Cup has brought immense benefits to the game in this country and provides the ideal bridge between the club scene and the national side, supplemented of course by the Interprovincial Championship, with the home and away interprovincial series a huge success and extremely beneficial.

Unfortunately, with the advent of the Celtic League, that is now going to revert to a single series. I do not have much enthusiasm for the Celtic League, but sincerely hope it is a great success. However, it imposes further restrictions on the clubs and that is the source of supply for the national team.

It is in the league that the youngsters hone their skills and we need a strong and vibrant AIL, but most certainly not 16 teams in the first division. Nor should the clubs be putting themselves into debt with some excessive payments, notably to coaches. There is now a cap on payments to players. The schools and the clubs are the lifeblood of the game in this country. The schools represent a separate issue.

THERE has been a great change in the fortunes of the Ireland side, which has coincided with Munster's great achievements in the Heineken Cup. It really has been a truly remarkable transformation when compared with the disappointment of Lens in the World Cup and the humiliation in Twickenham just 12 months ago.

Just as we have seen the great confidence and belief in the Munster team, it has now been transferred to the national side. Five wins out of the last six matches in Six Nations Championships is some turn around.

I have little doubt that, in the very recent past, Ireland would not have held on to win that match against France. A lot of praise has, rightly, been given for the victory, elements of the display and some excellent individual performances. But, equally, realism must prevail and there is work to be done.

This Ireland side is not only successful, but playing a brand of rugby that is exhilarating, effective and exciting to watch. Bernard Laporte, the French coach, says Ireland now has the best midfield backs in the game and that Ronan O'Gara is probably the best outside half in world rugby.

Clive Woodward, the England coach, and Rob Andrew, the Newcastle director of rugby, say that England's Jonny Wilkinson is the best number 10 in the game. Well Laporte, Woodward and Andrew cannot all be right. But O'Gara has certainly proved what a quality player he is in a key position. How effectively he has answered his critics.

There is not a shred of doubt about Brian O'Driscoll's quality. He is the best centre we have had since Mike Gibson. But there is another player on the Ireland back line who has played a very important role. That is scrumhalf Peter Stringer. His value to Ireland is immense, the speed of his passing out to both sides is crucial in the type of the game the Ireland side is playing.

He is brave to a fault and, as soon as he adds a little more variety to his game, he will be even better. Stringer is the best passer of the ball I have seen in the scrumhalf position in an Ireland side and I am going back to the "Golden Era" of 1948-51. These are exciting times for Irish rugby - let us all enjoy them.