Is that #1 ranking a help or a hindrance?
Finally, after all the hype over the past few months, the 2019 Rugby World Cup kicks off in Tokyo this weekend.
The host nation take on Russia this Friday in the opening game of the tournament, with Ireland playing their first match against Scotland on Sunday.
But what can we really expect from an Irish squad who were well below bar in the first half of their RWC warm-up fixtures?
Former Ireland & Munster scrum half Peter Stringer chats to Dermot and Dave about our chances and feels that the manager must have a few tricks up his sleeve;
We all hope that there's some master grand plan that Joe Schmidt is coming up with in terms of a different game plan against these bigger teams
Seeing that Ireland are in such a weak group (Pool A = Ireland, Japan, Samoa, Russia & Scotland), Stringer knows that beating the Scots will give us an easy ride into the Quarter Finals, with "four or five weeks to peak".
The 43-year-old then gives us some insight into how the players will be feeling over the coming days and tells us why this experience will always be cherished.
Strings also reveals how he would much prefer Ireland to play the All Blacks in the Quarter Finals as opposed to the final;
the longer they're in this competition, the stronger they are gonna get
Finally, Dave teaches the Eir Sport panelist some useful facts about Japan to help with his punditry.
Ireland vs Scotland is live on RTÉ Two @8:45am Sunday (22nd) morning.
HEEEEEAAAAAVE......
Check out Stringer's predictions in full by pressing the play button on screen.
