THE DEBATE will rage until the World Cup kicks off and probably won’t conclude until the completion of the tournament.

Nonetheless, the extent to which the Southern or Northern Hemisphere routes to the global kick-about is preferable will be made clearer by some key group contests, such as Ireland’s pivotal second game against Australia in Eden Park on September 17th.

Come September, the south’s Big Three could hardly be more match-hardened, with an 18-match Super 15 leading into the Tri-Nations and then the World Cup itself, with scarcely a pause for breath.

That’s especially true for the Wallabies’ core of Queensland Reds who broke new ground with their exciting Super 15 success.

However, the prevailing view that they would be inestimably better prepared for the World Cup has been tempered of late.

Only time will tell whether Robbie Deans and Graham Henry will emulate Pieter de Villiers’ controversial decision to wrap up even some of their front-liners from Tri-Nations games, especially those on the road.

But some, such as England’s number eight Nick Easter, have even suggested the northern heavyweights will be better primed after a summer rest, good pre-season and a few warm-up matches.

Ireland’s Australian backs coach, Alan Gaffney, appears to prefer the northern route to RWC 2011.

“I think the way we have got it over here, I quite like it. We have got the ability of playing these players, (then) they get a bit of a rest after a long, arduous season, they get the four weeks off, come back in straight into a pre-season combined with ourselves and the provinces – and went extremely well.

“And, coming into it now, they are pretty fresh. They have gone through a pretty tough programme, but they are rearing to go. I quite like it; other people would say different, but I like it.”

Gaffney echoed Declan Kidney’s view that Ireland’s “primary aim is to win the (warm-up) games”, but they won’t be unveiling full-strength sides each time with a view to preserving Ireland’s status as ranked fourth in the world.

Although these four matches carry IRB ranking points, they remain footnotes in history. And, while it wouldn’t be comforting, Ireland would probably swap four warm-up defeats for four World Cup group wins.

”We have to get the balance right to make sure they are sharp by the time the World Cup comes around,” said Gaffney. “We are probably looking at two-and-a-half to three games maximum per person. If that can be done, that is the optimum. It’s going to be difficult to achieve across the board. The balance is very, very important, but in each game we’ll be going in very, very strong.”

Hence, they won’t be going down the De Villiers’ route either.

“We wouldn’t subscribe to what is going on over there at the moment. Each to their own. Unfortunately they (Boks) haven’t performed particularly well over the last two weekends, but that’s not the way we want to go.

“We think the process we are undertaking is the correct way and we are hoping by the time we get to the World Cup the guys are in top form. They will have sufficient time, sufficient rest, we’ll get the balance there and they will be raring to go to hit the ground running for 9/11,” he said, in reference to Ireland’s opening game, which, given it is against the USA, is uncannily timed for the 10th anniversary of the attacks.

For all the Reds’ reputation as the entertainers, Gaffney countered: “Somebody told me that Queensland kicked the ball more than any side in the Super 15. That may not be the perception, but apparently that is a fact.

“When they run the ball, they are very exciting, (Will) Genia and (Quade) Cooper are outstanding players and the rest go along with it. Genia is extremely important to what Australia do, (but) there is a gap between Genia and the players underneath him. Cooper obviously brings a lot to the table the way he plays the game.”

Gaffney expects Deans to play mostly full-strength sides after resting their Reds’ front-liners in the defeat to Samoa, before recalling them for the bonus-point win at home to an under-strength Springboks a week later.

“They went into that game (against Samoa) with 50 per cent of their first-rate team; it wasn’t a bad team they put out. Five of that forward pack you would expect to start normally, but they didn’t show them enough respect by not taking the penalty kicks for goal early in the game and it snowballed.”