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Ah, nostalgia. It's a wonderful thing, even if it isn't as good as it used to be.

One man's happy reminiscences, of course, can be another man's sorry-I-don't-remember. While I've spent the last few days wallowing in memories of the 1982 World Cup, triggered by a special programme on the event (5 Live Sport, 2030-2200 Tuesday 31 March), for younger pups in the office it's all about Mexico '86.

Mention Bryan Robson to me and I see a fresh-faced midfield dynamo scoring after 27 seconds against France. To Ben Dirs he's a shattered-looking man limping off the pitch holding his useless shoulder while Peter Reid warms up in the background.

But while the tournaments and Robbos might differ, the principle is the same: it's your first World Cup that is the biggie, the one that had the greatest impact and remains the most vivid.

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It started seven weeks ago with snow in February, on a day cold enough for five layers, and ended it with the daffodils in full bloom and Cardiff in T-shirts.

The big winners? Ireland. The big losers? Italy. But what of the other categories in between?

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After 61 years of waiting, it came down to the last two seconds and the last two metres of the final match of the season.

Ireland's Grand Slam triumph in Cardiff was a story that will never be forgotten by those who witnessed it, a mesmerising saga with an extraordinary ending destined to be retold time and time and time again.

From the first kick the pace was unrelenting. To the end it was as compelling as anything any author has ever dared dream up.

Tension? At times it felt like you had an elephant sitting on your chest. Nail-biting? Most of us were down to the flesh of the fingers well before the end.

The plot swung this way, that way and then the other. At no stage did anyone watching have the faintest idea where it was going next. And in the final chapter, the final few pages - how many more twists can one tale have?

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Declan Kidney couldn't say it. Ronan O'Gara couldn't say it.

Keith Wood tried not to say it, but ended up saying it anyway. "Even the mention of the words 'Grand Slam' is bad luck," warned the former Ireland and Lions hooker, in the style of .

It took Rob Kearney to finally bring it out into the open. "The last few weeks there has been no mention of Grand Slams," he admitted. "It's sort of been banned. But now it is finally in our sights."

This promises to be a week of sleepless nights and heart-pounding days for Irish fans and players alike. Waiting 61 years for something tends to do that to you.

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The in Trinidad might finally have raised English pulses and hopes, but the overall story of the West Indies series was a sobering one for their players and fans alike.

That England fell two wickets shy of snatching victory was a fitting summary of the entire tour - a tale of nearly and not quite, of coming up short where an accomplished Test team would have found a way.

Back before the first Test in Jamaica, Andrew Strauss talked confidently of victory. It made sense; the Windies had won just three Tests in the last five years before this series.

That England - even weakened by the simultaneous loss of their previous coach and captain at the start of the year - could actually lose the Wisden Trophy for the first time since 2000 never crossed anyone's mind.

Two months later, it's Strauss's side staring at a sorry set of stats.

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