Keith Earls: We know how to deal with pressure a lot better now

Keith Earls says Ireland are capable of "special things" as the World Cup ramps up another notch this weekend.

Andy Farrell's side, ranked one in the world and the reigning Six Nations champions, beat Romania at a canter last weekend and next face Tonga in Nantes on Saturday (8pm).

"We have obviously achieved a lot, and we know when we are on it and we are switched on and we play our game-plan, we know we are well capable of competing and doing special things," said the 35-year-old Munster winger, who looks set to add to his 101 caps when Farrell names his side tomorrow.

"But again, I know it's a cliché, you always hear it from us, we won’t be looking past Saturday, but obviously we have touched on it.

"It’s something that we are confident in our ability. We will be looking to go deep if we reach our standards.

"[Camp in this World Cup is] definitely a bit more relaxed, I think, in the environment. We know how to deal with pressure a lot better now as a group. We know how big these tournaments are, we've had a good welcome in Tours, it's been great."

Mick Kearney (above), now in his second spell as team manager, says he has seen a lot of growth in the environment and that the team's confidence is built on strong foundations.

"Confidence and belief is very high," he said.

"And I think that comes from a number of factors.

"Going back to when Andy [Farrell] came in after 2019, I think there was a lot of talk about players being themselves, being happy very much in the environment, having that kind of openness, willingness to speak out, very much to be themselves and work together and ask questions.

"In the early days Andy would say there’s no such thing as a silly or a bad question and he doesn’t have to say that anymore now because