Ireland and France’s pain, the flip in the pecking order between Portugal and Georgia, and Leinster’s coaching recruitment.
Let’s just get this over with: for all that it had the country enthralled, and for all of the gooier sentiments that you could rightly tether to it, Ireland’s World Cup campaign ended in failure.
That’s not to put their exit down to bad luck, either; there were elements of underperformance against the All Blacks that will follow members of this team for the rest of their days. At least a handful will never get the chance to put it right, either. And as was the case with Ireland, the finality of Ben O’Keeffe’s full-time whistle in the quarter with South Africa two weeks ago, and the immediate sense of foolishness at having deigned to dream of a storybook ending, will be a feeling that no French player or supporter forgets until they actually win the bloody thing at some abstract point in the future.Theirs was a very different kind of failure.
As for Jones: he’s absolutely flamed out of his last two jobs and the evidence would increasingly suggest that his time as a serious coach at this level is up. That very suspicion will drive him to take on another big job, but it might have already driven him a bit too mad for that job to work out.They were saddled with an awful draw but relative to performance expectations, this Italian campaign was like Ireland 2007 after 14 pints of Peroni.
Advertisement Dave Winter / INPHO Australia's Ben Donaldson scores a try against Georgia. Dave Winter / INPHO / INPHO Rassie Erasmus and Jacques Nienaber have proven themselves as the game’s greatest thinkers and so too have their players, whose run of three consecutive one-point wins in the knockout stages encapsulates their mental toughness.
— Bernard Jackman November 1, 2023 The fact that Ireland were able to edge them in the pool just goes to show that… Ah, let’s not, actually.That the All Blacks fell marginally short in last Saturday’s showpiece will make their new head coach’s job a fraction easier. Their whole tournament laid bare the distinction between the uncomfortable, bumbling Steve Borthwick that we see at press conferences and the highly competent rugby nerd of whom players at both Leicester and England have always spoken so highly.
Billy Stickland / INPHO Connacht and Ireland centre Bundee Aki scores a try against New Zealand. Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO
Malaysia Latest News, Malaysia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Irish Christmas markets 2023: 5 markets for a festive shopping experienceWhether you want to find unique hand made gifts, take the kids to a ferris wheel or booze it up in a German beer tent, Ireland has some of the best Christmas markets
Read more »
Stuart Byrne picks his Premier Division 'Team of the Year' for 2023Mirror Sport columnist and League of Ireland legend Stuart Byrne has the final word every Friday
Read more »
Christmas FM 2023: When it returns and how you can listen in your countyThis well-loved Christmas station started its journey in 2008 and is widely recognised for its tradition of broadcasting for just one month each year: here's all the essential information about Christmas FM, including its start and end dates and details on how to tune in from your...
Read more »
Cork Jazz 2023: Surprise sets, flooded streets, and an unbeatable buzzHeading down to Cork for my first Jazz Festival experience, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. One very long weekend...
Read more »
The Guide: The events to see, the shows to book, and the ones to catch before they endNovember 4th-10th, 2023: The best movies, music, art and more coming your way this week
Read more »
Government Ministers will likely stand in more flood waters before 2023 is outMany weather stations countrywide have recorded normal year’s rainfall already, with November and December traditionally being two of our wettest months
Read more »