FIRST off, credit where credit is due. It would be churlish and mean-spirited to harp on about the shortcomings of this Irish display to the exclusion of this famous Western Samoan win.
Like the match itself, the Samoans left the abiding impressions from the post-match press conference and cast a damning verdict on the Irish display. They've been a coming force for some time, they tackle and run with big hearts, run straight and run off each other with a flair that makes Irish rugby pedestrian and outdated by comparison.
Sitting back contentedly and soaking up the moment, coach Bryan Williams endeavoured to put this win in perspective. "It's right up there for sure. It's another step towards gaining the credibility we desire. We've now beaten Wales, Scotland and Ireland. Bring on England I suppose."
However, it may only mean they will be "slightly forgiven for losing to Fiji 16-0". "The All Blacks caned us by 50 points and South Africa by 60 points."
Ouch, and to further put the Irish display in perspective, Williams observed: "They (Ireland) didn't want to play with a great deal of adventure and the modern game really requires it. Our boys back in the southern hemisphere have witnessed the Super 12 and you people have identified that. We're playing a far more adventurous style in the southern hemisphere.
Whenever comparisons were drawn, this theme was hammered home by the Samoans. Asked what advice he might give to the Australians were he asked, Samoan captain Pat Lam said: "They would have to move the ball around. Ireland is very strong close, taking the ball on. But that only gains a few metres and in the modern game you've got to move it more."
Whether or not this was one of the lessons which the Irish had taken in they weren't saying. Murray Kidd, hands in pockets, focused downward. Niall Hogan hunched forward and looked crestfallen. Manager Pat Whelan stood upright initially, sat down and, in keeping with the tradition of Munstermen in this portfolio, hogged the show in an almost manic, and understandable, rush to get it all over with.
"We learned a lot. We learned that if we don't control the match up front then we're going to be in trouble. We missed numerous first-time tackles and you just can't afford to do that at this level. We also learned that you don't kick possession away, which we did repeatedly."
The words came in an uninterrupted flow and, perhaps realising this could have gone on all night, he stopped himself. "And a lot of other areas that we're not prepared to go into now.
Kidd said he wouldn't have changed anything about the preparations and, reminding us that he's experienced Western Samoans first hand for many years, correctly observed: "If you give them a start like we gave them, they're always dangerous.
Hogan alluded to this and the lurking suspicion that the Irish were out-psyched physically - if that makes sense - when lamenting the failure to "match them (Western Samoa) physically early on. It felt like for the whole game we were catching up. We weren't equal to it on the night. The ball was slow coming back and we weren't blowing over rucks."
The post-mortem into what was always a highly questionable selection began almost immediately and, invariably, the name of the afternoon's Donnybrook stormtrooper, Keith Wood (bizarrely not fit enough for the selectors' liking), was first to be aired.
"No, not really," maintained Whelan defiantly when asked if Wood's omission had been a selectorial error. "Alan Clarke performed superbly for us last season, while Keith Wood was out for 12 to 15 months. He needed to come back into international rugby gradually. He proved he can," added Whelan.
No doubt, other corrections will be made for the game against Australia in II days time. That is the way of Irish rugby. It is also the way of Irish rugby, as Whelan said, to rebound when it's down, and the sight of the Wallabies issue to bring about an improvement. It had better do!
