Jack Conan has pledged that Ireland will be back to their world-beating best on Sunday.
Concerns that the men in green have declined in form since their record-breaking 2018 were heightened by the hammering dished out by England at Twickenham in the second World Cup warm-up.
Since then there were green shoots of recovery in the back to back wins over Wales.
Ireland supporters are hoping that Joe Schmidt has been holding something back for the crunch World Cup opening clash against Scotland in Yokohama.
But Conan is bullish about Ireland hitting the ground running in Yokohama.
"I think we should expect our best performance in a long time," pledged the Champions Cup winning no 8.
"I think we’ve built nicely throughout the pre-season. Obviously some of those warm-up games didn’t go plan.
"But to finish as world number one and beat Wales back-to-back, anyone would have taken that before they started.
"So I think we’re building nicely. I think it’s really going to get to fever pitch now come Sunday, so I expect big things."
The fact that Ireland have beaten the Scots in six out of the last seven meetings - the only loss coming in the 2017 Six Nations at Murrayfield - suggests Ireland should prevail on the world stage.
It's almost 20 years since the Scots dominated the rivalry.
"We have spoken during the week about familiarity breeding contempt, so it's not something...we'll prepare like any other game," insisted Conan.
"We're not going to rest on our laurels and think because we've had some decent performances against them in the last few years that it's going to be any easier.
"We're so used to playing them, we play them at least once a year so it's going to feel like a Six Nations with probably a bigger, noisier crowd.
"So it's really exciting to come all the way to the other side of the world and play against a team you're so used to, it's an incredible experience.
"But if anything, it's going to be a lot harder this weekend - it's the World Cup, first game and everything is on the line.
"If we don't perform to the best of our ability, we'll be in a different spot altogether. So a lot of hard work has gone on to get us here, but there's a lot of work to do."
Five or six of his family will make it over to Japan, as well as some friends, later in the tournament.
However the Leinster back row will start on the bench this weekend, with CJ Stander set to hold onto the no 8 jersey despite Conan's good form for his province last season.
"It's been a long build-up to this one," he said. "Everyone is chomping at this stage to get out and play because we feel like we've been talking about it and thinking about it for so long.
"I think every kid growing up playing rugby, the dream is to play for your country in a World Cup.
"It was absolutely one of my dreams so to be here now, it's actually kind of surreal, it's probably something that hasn't sunk in but it probably will come Sunday if I get the nod to play.
"For you to run out there, I'm sure there are a lot of Irish fans who have made the effort to come here and it's going to be an incredibly special time.
"So I'm trying to enjoy it but there's a lot of work to do and you can't just think you're on holidays, there's a lot on the line so it's a bit of a mix of both.
"It's a real dream come true (to be here) and if I get to play at some stage it will be a real tick off the bucket list to play in a World Cup, so it's exciting times".
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