Ireland achieved their highest ever world rugby ranking yesterday, following last Saturday's win over the All Blacks in Dublin. And in his column this morning, Gerry Thornley reflects on the lofty status Joe Schmidt's side now hold around the world and on home soil, as they venture into uncharted territory. He writes: "Mentally this squad are in a place never previously occupied by an Irish rugby team globally, or perhaps any Irish sports team." And he looks at the stunning record Ireland's new breed of players have against New Zealand: "In half a dozen meetings, including the Lions, Tadhg Furlong is three wins, one draw and two losses. CJ Stander is 2-1-1. Josh van der Flier is 2-0-1. James Ryan is one win from one. Ditto the replacements Porter, Luke McGrath and Larmour. Joey Carbery is two from two. . . Of course respect for the All Blacks remains. Absolutely. But the mystique and the fear factor have been removed."

Meanwhile we are asking our readers to let us know where they watched Ireland's famous 16-9 victory. More than 50,000 were at the Aviva Stadium to witness the lifting of a 113-year hoodoo, but around Ireland - and around the world - pubs, clubs, bars and living rooms were packed to the rafters. Please get in touch HERE, and tell us your story.

Elsewhere the Republic of Ireland have now gone four games without scoring a goal after they played out a dead-rubber stalemate with Denmark in Aarhus last night. Martin O'Neill's starting line-up included six defenders, with Cyrus Christie returning in a midfield role, while Michael Obafemi made his international debut as he was brought on for a late cameo. Afterwards, O'Neill said he expected his players to push on again when the "big stuff" starts in March [Euro 2020 qualifiers], and he was pleased with his side's defensive efforts: "Since the Welsh game, I think we have had to tighten up defensively, I think we have done that but now we have to fix things at the other end."

And Aidan O'Brien is looking to add a new race to his glittering CV this weekend, as Brian O'Connor writes: "There isn't much Aidan O'Brien hasn't conquered during his legendary career but Capri is set to try to break new ground for Ireland's champion trainer in Japan this Sunday. Victory in the 38th running of the Japan Cup will deliver O'Brien Group One glory in a tenth country"