Based on suggestions a shortlist of names for each position was posted daily and saw 160,000 votes being cast. The final 15 is below and would certainly be equipped to compete on the world stage.

2011 RUGBY WORLD CUP DREAM TEAM:

15 - Israel Dagg (New Zealand)

14 - Cory Jane (New Zealand)

13 – Brian O’Driscoll (Ireland)

Ireland captain O’Driscoll took nearly 50% of the votes to make the Dream Team. A consistent performer for Ireland, O’Driscoll added to his impressive tally of international tries with a well-taken try in the must win pool match against Italy.

12 - Jamie Roberts (Wales)

11 - Richard Kahui (New Zealand)

10 – Ronan O’Gara (Ireland)

The second Irish player to make the Dream Team, O’Gara earned his place after scoring 44 points during the tournament. His cool head and calmness under pressure make him a valuable addition to the side.

9 - Mike Phillips (Wales)

1 - Jean-Baptiste Poux (France)

2 - Keven Mealamu (New Zealand)

3 - Owen Franks (New Zealand)

4 - Brad Thorn (New Zealand)

5 – Paul O’Connell (Ireland)

Voted man-of-the-match in Ireland’s first match of the 2011 Rugby World Cup against the USA, O’Connell was the overwhelming favourite for the number 5 shirt in the Dream Team. Appearing in his third World Cup tournament, O’Connell was the heartbeat of the Irish side in their run to the quarter-finals.

6 - Thierry Dusautoir (France)

7 - Richie McCaw (New Zealand)

8 - Imanol Harinordoquy (France)

Read the article here…

A week later they will bring international rugby back to Christchurch at the redeveloped Rugby League Park before a final game pencilled in for the Waikato Stadium in Hamilton June 23rd.

Ireland will also play a match against the Barbarians in the week prior to departing for New Zealand – the date and venue for that game have yet to be confirmed.

The long standing injury to his neck and shoulder mean he is most likely out of Ireland’s 2012 RBS 6 Nations as well as most of Leinster’s Heineken Cup title defence.

“I haven’t made a concrete decision yet but I’m heading that way,” admitted Murphy when asked if he was considering retirement from the test arena. “I spoke to Declan Kidney at the end of the World Cup. I’m weighing up my options at the moment and I’ll probably make a call on it just before the Six Nations.”

Ireland captain, Brian O’Driscoll said the entire squad backed the decision:

“The welcome that we received at every turn during the tournament from the local communities, who really embraced us everywhere we went, was incredible.

“The tournament itself, not only from our perspective, was a fantastic showpiece and run with such commitment and enthusiasm by the people of New Zealand, it was a credit to the entire nation.

“My only regret was that we were not able to stay in the tournament for longer to give our supporters more to shout about and also allow us to continue to soak up the amazing atmosphere that was continuing to build around the tournament.

“Members of the squad had contact with many people who were affected by the Christchurch earthquake and it was heartbreaking to see the pictures of the devastation there.

“The players all felt that they wanted to make some sort of gesture to show our appreciation for the support given to us and that the fines built up during the tournament would be best served by helping the people and rugby community in Christchurch.”

The IRFU has also made a contribution.

IRB WORLD RANKINGS (as of Monday, October 24):

Last week’s positions in brackets -

1(1) NEW ZEALAND 91.43 rating points
2(2) AUSTRALIA 87.42
3(3) FRANCE 84.70
4(4) SOUTH AFRICA 84.34
5(5) ENGLAND 81.58
6(7) IRELAND 80.65
7(8) ARGENTINA 80.28
8(6) WALES 80.18
9(9) TONGA 76.63
10(10) SCOTLAND 76.20
11(11) SAMOA 75.81
12(12) ITALY 73.99
13(13) CANADA 72.92
14(14) GEORGIA 71.09
15(15) JAPAN 70.45
16(16) FIJI 68.78
17(17) USA 65.63
18(18) ROMANIA 63.98
19(19) NAMIBIA 61.24
20(20) PORTUGAL 60.67

O’Brien who won’t turn 25 until February came into the tournament as ERC European Player of the Year and he clearly delivered on his reputation playing in four of the five games and scoring his second Test try against Russia.

A back row combination we hope to see time and time again was also formed with Ferris and Heaslip and the New Zealanders were particularly impressed with his strong carries and tough-tackling.

The tournament website also picked out Israel Dagg and Jerome Kaino for their efforts in claiming the title, Jamie Roberts for his performances and some deserved recognition for the Namibia caption Jacques Burger.

O’Driscoll admist that he’s dreading the thought of leaving and not being part of a team:

“Throughout the years, I heard lads talking about the end of their careers and how much they were missing the camaraderie and the craic, and I was thinking they were exaggerating.

“I was saying, ‘That’s a bit too much man love’, but I can see it now. I can see what they were talking about.

“I’ve spent over a third of my life playing professional rugby, so it’s going to have a huge impact when the day comes that I’m not doing it anymore – and I’m dreading it. I see guys who were hugely popular with Leinster over the years, John Fogarty, Malcolm O’Kelly and others, and because they’re not part of everyday training they just can’t have that connection.

“They’re still tied to certain people, but not the team as a whole. That’s all gone.”

O’Driscoll has captain the team to the Six Nations, a Grand Slam and a Triple Crown and has led Leicester to two Heineken Cup titles…. However he still wants more….

“For me, the inspiration is about trying to be the best that you can be, trying to show those who doubt me, the people who think I’m over the hill, that I still have it…I don’t want to be someone who just petered off towards the end of his career, I want to go out on a high”.

Wales owe their win to their defence who, for 60 minutes took a battering and then returned two huge blows to ensure they were in the semifinal for the first time since 1987. Ireland managed enough ball to look dangerous in attack, but lacked options and finishing.

Shane Williams extended his Welsh record try tally to 56 in the third minute after Wales went through the phases to see Roberts take a high ball going forward before Halfpenny put Williams over in the right corner. Video ref  Giulio de Santis confirmed the score and Priestland converted from the wide angle.

Welsh indiscipline and pressure from Ireland denied Wales the chance to capitalise on this dream start. Faletau went over the top of the ruck, North didn’t roll away from a tackle and Lydiate was caught offside at the breakdown. With O’Gara on the pitch you’d expect this to have seen Ireland ahead, but no – instead of kicking for goal Ireland settled for a series of attacking line-outs which were soaked up by Wales.

Roberts did eventually manage to get Wales moving forward, but O’Driscoll intercepted Philips’ pass to see D’Arcy run a dummy and show the danger this Ireland side pose. However somehow little Shane Williams managed to hold Sean O’Brien off the floor as he crossed the line to deny Ireland a first try.

An O’Gara penalty in the 23rd minute got points on the board for Ireland after again the Welsh fell foul of tackle laws, but a long-range penalty from Halfpenny restored Wales’ seven point lead before the break.

HT: Ireland 3 – 10 Wales

Ireland looked bright starting the second period, with Ferris and Bowe linking up to give Earls the time to cross in the corner and allow O’Gara to add the conversion.

The scores were level for just five minutes before Philips got down the blindside after an Alun  Wyn Jones drive, giving Wales an advantage they would old onto. Priestland failed the conversion and had a penalty rebound off the post shortly after.

Centre Davies made the most of Healy appearing in the midfield defence, finding off the prop and bursting through to score – this time Priestland didn’t miss and Wales went 12 points ahead with 15 minutes to play.

Ireland’s attempts to respond saw replacement scrum-half Eoin Reddan make a superb pass to O’Brien but he was halted three metres short and knocked on, when Healy was penalised at the scrum Wales were able to clear.

Ireland threw the kitchen sink at Wales in the dying stages but a defence coached by Shaun Edwards stood up to every bit of it….

Congratulations Wales!