Prague couldn't have been recommended highly enough by the man over there and Bordeaux, with its relaxed way of life, beautiful weather, rich culture and picturesque squares, was also given a top recommendation. If either city is ever looking for someone to promote them, they've found their men. The conversation finished on the consensus that it was such a pity we were brought up on an island, cut off from all other cultural influences.

How we pined.

All of which popped back into our mind this week when considering the perennial question asked by every proEddie O'Sullivan man in the country: "Who would you replace him with so?" There was a joke among the media corps earlier in the tournament that any such question could now be answered with the names "Hakkies Husselman" or "Malkhaz Cheishvili" but on a more serious note, there appears be a perception out there that any potential replacement for O'Sullivan (even if he seems destined to hold onto his job), has to be Irish.

Now don't get us wrong here. We have nothing but respect and admiration for the coaches currently within the Irish system, Declan Kidney, Mark McCall and Michael Bradley, and there's nothing at all wrong with having a native coach in charge of the international side. It's just that we don't think there's anything wrong with having a foreign coach of an Irish team either. But we've been down that road before, the argument will go, with Murray Kidd, Brian Ashton and Warren Gatland and none of them, bar the second Kiwi, contributed anything worthwhile to Irish rugby.

That may be true but there's a halfdecent reason for just why things didn't work out for them. All three reigned when professional rugby in the country was taking baby steps, when the players didn't really know what professionalism meant bar taking the money and where some of their ideas weren't understood, or didn't want to be understood, by those involved. If any of them were involved with our finely tuned athletes of today, we'd put down a few quid on their overall approach and specific ideas being better received.

Which brings us back to the point we waffled on about at the start. Being an island country, we're cut off from all sorts of influences from the rest of the world and that includes rugby influences. The only non-Irish member of the Irish coaching staff if Graham Steadman, the English-born defence coach, and he himself comes from another island nation. The rest are all Irish born and bred, and bar Eddie O'Sullivan's brief sojourn with the US Eagles, they've all coached in Ireland for their entire careers. And this is where you start to see a pattern.

Scotland have Frank Hadden and George Graham in charge, both of whom have earned their coaching credentials in their native land. Wales have a similar situation with Gareth Jenkins, Nigel Davies and Rowland Phillips. England's coaching team . . . Brian Ashton, John Wells and Mike Ford . . . have also had most, if not all, of their rugby experiences in either Britain or Ireland.

Then you take a look at the mob from the other hemisphere. New Zealand have two coaches, Graham Henry (below) and Steve Hansen, who have extensive experience of coaching European teams. In fact, it seemed that both only became qualified to lead the All Blacks once they'd put down a stint overseas. The same could be said of John Connolly, Michael Foley and Scott Johnson with Australia. They know European rugby inside out and that gave them a significant advantage over all other candidates when they got the Wallaby job back in 2006. As for South Africa, they're probably the most insular of the Tri-Nations but the appointment of Eddie Jones as an advisor before the tournament started proved that even a proud rugby man like Jake White realised his side could do with some outside brains.

Can it be a coincidence, then, that the teams led by the most experienced crosshemisphere coaches are the ones destined to compete for the Webb Ellis trophy over the coming three weekends? It can't be and it just goes to prove that insularity does nobody any good.

Which is why Ireland hiring a foreign coach in the coming months . . . be that as a direct replacement for O'Sullivan or as a new addition to his coaching team . . .cannot be a bad thing. Guys like Nick Mallett, John Connolly and John Kirwan are available after the competition. As is Jake White. And what about Warren Gatland? If Niall Quinn and Roy Keane can kiss and make-up then surely the IRFU and Kiwi can do the same. Of course, we jest about that last matter but overall, there's little doubt that a foreign coach could only open Irish minds and offer our players a whole new perspective on the game.

Perspectives they don't get at the moment from living on an island.