So what is it about these young St Mary's whippersnappers? After all, more than half of tomorrow's Irish back line honed their skills at the Rathmines school, which has always been a remarkable production line for Irish backs. Apparently, it's due to a slight lack of sporting ecumenism from the Holy Ghost Fathers and a variation of the old street game principle.

Conor McGuinness, debutant 22-year-old scrum-half, cannot think of any other rational reason. "I think a lot of it comes from the fact that in the yard - I don't know if it's still this way - you're not allowed play soccer. You have to play tip rugby.

"Every lunchtime from the age of eight, and principally from the age of 13, you used to play at least half-an-hour of tip rugby. I used to come in from the yard sweating. By the time you hit 15, as a result the handling has been well honed," he reasons.

McGuinness himself always stood out as a schools talent of note. He played for three years on the St Mary's senior schools team, and in his second year he first encountered Jeff Wilson and Jonah Lomu on the successful Irish schools' tour of New Zealand. By the end of his final year, McGuinness had won six schools caps. Credit for much of his early blossoming and that of other St Mary's starlets must go to Brian Cotter.

The perception is that McGuinness's career stalled after that. This is not strictly true. He had a good year on the St Mary's under-19s, but tore ankle ligaments the following season in his first match.

He still made Irish under21s in the final game against Wales, and in the first game of the ensuing season against England, before forfeiting his place when his final exams clashed with the game against Scotland.

That his rugby career stalled at the outset of last season until a belated breakthrough into the St Mary's team can be attributed to the preference of St Mary's coach Ciaran Fitzgerald for Owen McCormack.

McGuinness, even-tempered, bright and easy-going, laughs and says: "Obviously, from my point of view, Fitzie got it wrong. But Fitzie had his good reasons. Mucker (McCormack) was playing well and didn't deserve to be shafted when I came back. I just felt I did enough in four months to earn a chance sooner."

However, he emphasises that his personal relationship with the former Irish coach always remained cordial. "It was no different from that between any coach and a player kept on the bench."

He says he knew he could have taken the attitude "I'm a provincial player and I shouldn't be here". But he didn't. "To be honest, I put my head down and said `when I do get in I'm going to make the best of it'. In the end I was actually happy with the way the season worked out."

He made good his return in the win by St Mary's over Garryowen, whose scrum-half was Stephen McIvor. "I needed that. I like to play someone big as against a low key affair." His extensive representative career has meant McGuinness has played against some of the best scrumhalves - Matt Dawson, Guy Accoceberry and Andy Gommarsall, but the best of all was undoubtedly George Gregan of Australia.

"Gregan was class," recalls McGuinness of Connacht's meeting with the touring Wallabies last season. "Everything he did, you just couldn't touch him. No matter how hard you ran at him, he'd have offloaded the ball at just the right time. Also, he runs the angles which other scrumhalves don't run."

McGuinness's own abilities were at the core of Connacht's magnificent odyssey this season, as he took on much of Eric Elwood's traditional load. The scrum-half's box kicking is superbly measured under the new rules, rarely giving the throw-in away and always giving his runners a target. He is a fearless, high-count tackler.

His natural pace has been enhanced by the tutelage of Connacht coach Warren Gatland on improved and more varied angles of running. He could go a long way, according to New Zealander Gatland. "I just think Conor has been one of the players who has really developed over the last two seasons. I think he might make two or three breaks against the All Blacks which hopefully will really excite the crowd. I'm confident that he will do that.

"He's worked really hard at his game. By the time of the World Cup, if Ireland stick with him, he could become a player who wins games, who can dominate and dictate. That would be my hope for him. I think he's capable of being a world-class scrumhalf."