Dylan Cleaver: In favour of the scarlet dragon

Neutral supporters should opt for Wales in the quarter-final. D acha Cymru! Photo / Getty Images

Opinion

If you hadn't spent frigid, swaying days in the stands, you would not even know it was there.

Driving south on Adelaide Road in an unlovely corner of the capital, there are few clues to the location of one of rugby's lost temples. The famous Millard Stand is long gone, along with the rest of Athletic Park. In its place stands a retirement village.

It was here on May 25, 1987, that Wales beat Ireland 13-6 in the key Pool 2 match of the inaugural World Cup. Mark Ring scored the only try of the game and the impish Jonathan Davies dropped two goals.

The significance of that result was that it gave Wales an easy path to the semifinal. In the quarters they met England in the days before they were strong. Wales won easily.

Ireland instead had to travel to Sydney to meet Australia, with a predictable result ensuing.

Twenty-four years later and Ireland are still waiting to make their first semifinal appearance; Wales are still waiting to return to the final four.

Well, here we are, in a different part of town, faced with the prospect of one of the Celtic under-achievers making it through to the top four.

More than that, with the winner to face either England or France in the semifinal, there's a great chance of getting through to the final.

Now that the draw has conveniently split itself into a north-south divide, it is impossible not to ponder a dream final.

Let's ignore the fact New Zealand has not been to a final, let alone won one of these things, for 16 years.

We'll also brush aside the absence of Dan Carter and the injury cloud hanging over Richie McCaw to pretend that the All Blacks will prevail in the southern half of the draw.

Who, then, would you want to see triumph from the north?

Even the romance that would be associated with a 1987 repeat final is not enough to sway favour towards the French.

You would have heard ad nauseam over the past week that France are capable of pulling a great performance out of nowhere, but they're not capable of pulling three, surely?

Anyway, no team that loses two matches during pool play deserves to be in a final.

England? No thanks.

That's not anti-English sentiment, by the way, just anti this team.

Who knows, maybe the old ladies of Bath, Leicester, Northampton and Gloucester feel safe in the knowledge there'll always be a wearer of the red rose to help them carry their shopping across the road, but they've painted themselves as such an unlikeable bunch on this trip that it is impossible to wish them well.

That leaves the Celts.

The heart pulls you towards Ireland. It's hard to say exactly why, but there is a natural affinity for all things Irish in this part of the world, whether it's Father Ted or Angela's Ashes.

Put it another way: How many Welsh bars have you seen in New Zealand?

But, if you're being honest, they're not the most attractive side in the world.

The selection of Ronan O'Gara tells you all you need to know about how they plan to go about their business. They'll kick, kick and kick again for territory and use their muscular forwards to squeeze mistakes out of the opposition. Even against Italy, they played next to no rugby in their own half.

Which is why the neutrals should be pointed in the direction of the scarlet dragon.

Wales play rugby the way we would like to think it should be played. They're young, vibrant and mostly fearless.

Sure, we might tire of hearing about how good Wales used to be, but this team is a genuine chance of writing another (long-overdue) glorious chapter in Welsh rugby history.

A New Zealander coaches them, too. What more can you ask for?

It's settled then - "D acha Cymru!"