Matt Cooper

But one of the things I remember as well as the brilliance of the day in Paul McGrath's performance was the heat.

The heat was extraordinary.

And that wasn't as bad as it was for the Irish fans going on into Orlando subsequently.

Okay, and of course then, have the times been chosen for television rather than actually for making it easier for the players?

Tell me, what way are the ticket sales gone?

Because there's been enormous controversy about the way the tickets have been allocated and the pricing.

And you know, it's a form of dynamic pricing.

Have there been tickets released back at lower prices because have they been unable to sell in many stadiums for some of the games?

But are there going to be empty seats in the stadiums, do you think?

Because are they just going to keep the elevated resale prices or will they drop them at the last minute to try and fill the grounds?

This also brings in the question, how many people from many of these countries are actually travelling in?

I mean, how would they be able to afford to go to the United States?

And also, would they be able to get visas to go in?

I mean, that seems brutally unfair.

I don't think it's ever been that I can think of a requirement of teams.

Normally they have a rule that they have to be in the host country for 24 hours beforehand.

I suspect they probably wish the Irish and the Italians had qualified to actually give big boost to the grounds that they would have played at.

But will there be ice agents, do you reckon, at the games?

I know there's been assurances given and ice doesn't seem to be as active at present as it might have been in the early months of this year.

So does that mean will they be going to the games and picking up people going to the games?