So, Ireland have named their side to take on Canada in their Rugby World Cup opener this Saturday.
But if you are planning to stay on the couch throughout the pool stages, there are a number of games you should be keeping a close eye on, starting this weekend.
France v Italy (Saturday, September 19th)
While most Irish eyes will be on our opening game against Canada this Saturday, our foremost pool rivals France and Italy go head-to-head very early on.
From our point of view, Italy can do us a big favour by shocking the French, which they have only done on three occasions.
Significantly two of those wins came in the Six Nations of 2011 and 2013, which is recent enough for France to be slightly worried.
Italy's Andrea Masi with Romain Taofifenua of France after the game ©INPHO/Ryan Byrne
New Zealand v Argentina (Sunday, September 20th)
It goes without saying that the All-Blacks are always worth a watch and they face their toughest pool test this weekend when they clash with Argentina.
With Tonga, Georgia and Namibia in the pool, this is surely the early pool decider for both nations. But New Zealand will be heavy favourites, having never lost to the Pumas and also coming out on top 39-18 in July when they faced off in the Rugby Championship.
The order in that pool is particularly vital from an Irish point of view, as we will meet one of these nations should we progress to the quarter-finals.
England v Wales (Saturday, September 26th)
These two rivals have been paired with Australia in Pool A which makes this clash all-important given that only two nations progress from the group.
With the match at Twickenham expect England to have some advantage and have beaten the Welsh in their last two Six Nations meetings. However, Wales had beaten them three times in a row before then, including a 19-12 win at Twickenham in 2012.
Australia’s Israel Folau chased by England’s George Ford ©INPHO/Billy Stickland
England v Australia (Saturday, October 3rd)
The finalists of 2003 will likely be battling for top spot in Pool A, assuming England can edge out the Welsh. England have won the last two matches between the two (both at Twickenham in 2013 and 2014), but have not played them in the World Cup since the 2007 quarter-final in Marseille when the English prevailed by a narrow two point margin.
Australia v Wales (Saturday, October 10th)
If Wales want to have a sure chance of progression, they will want to overturn a poor recent record against the Wallabies. Currently their head-to-head losing streak stands at 10 matches with Wales' last victory coming in 2008.
However, what stands in Wales' favour is that there has only been an average of three points of a deficit between the teams in the last five fixtures, which means this game could likely be very close and a must-watch.
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