Robbie Deans believes this year's Rugby World Cup will be the most open tournament of all-time and has talked up the work of fellow New Zealander Joe Schmidt in making Ireland one of the leading contenders.
Deans will coach the British Barbarians against Ireland in Limerick next week and didn't hold back in his praise for the Six Nations champions.
"Ireland are absolutely one of the sides in contention for the World Cup," Deans told media.
"This is going to be a great World Cup. There's more uncertainty in terms of the ultimate winner than there's ever been. And there are more sides capable of getting onto the podium than ever before, and that's great for the game."
Deans helped John Mitchell oversee the All Blacks' semifinal effort in the 2003 World Cup and then saw his hopes of glory with the Wallabies dashed by the All Blacks in the 2011 semifinals.
He now plies his trade in the Japanese club scene but remains an ambitious coach with an eagle eye on the international game.
Schmidt's remarkable development of the Irish setup where they have won back-to-back Six Nations titles hasn't been lost on Deans.
"Joe Schmidt has started really well at test level," Deans said.
"Ireland are very well placed I think right now, the timing of this World Cup is good for them.
"They've got a good nucleus of experience, and they've shown there's no one in the world they can't beat, and that includes the All Blacks.
"They are very well placed and Joe's played a big part in that.
"In terms of their game they are a very ambitious with their style of play. They have a well-structured well-organised game but they do create a lot of stress in set-piece position, and then they go hard at the line, they want to dent the line in order to be able to run off it."
