Pool A Australian reaction: "We can't win Cup," blared the heading above Bob Dwyer's column in the Sunday Herald Sun, expressing the view of most Australian observers that this game had highlighted Wallaby flaws more than Irish strengths.

"After what I saw last night, we cannot win the World Cup - and if we don't make some urgent changes, we'll simply be handing over (the) William Webb Ellis trophy," was how his assessment began.

"We've played two decent teams in the pool games in Argentina and Ireland, and both would have beaten us had they been able to kick their goals. And that simply isn't good enough.

"Last night's effort was a poor performance by a team that should have stood up when the occasion demanded, but didn't. It's clear to me we are struggling with ball handling, ball security and vision," said Dwyer, who echoed David Campese in calling for wholesale changes, namely Al Baxter back at tight head for Ben Darwin, Daniel Vickerman for David Giffin, Chris Whitaker for George Gregan, Matt Giteau for Stephen Larkham, Lote Tuqiri for Wendell Sailor. Campo has gone further by continually demanding Chris Latham's recall at the expense of Mat Rogers.

The irony of all this is that after Australia's one-point win over Ireland in the 1991 World Cup quarter-finals Dwyer, then coach, responded by making one change in personnel, although his side did go on to win the tournament.

Describing the Irish lineout as brilliant, Dwyer concluded by stating: "Ireland put us under more pressure in the lineouts. We didn't put them under any. They won the scrum, they beat us on the kick-off, our ball security was average and our kicking game across the park was poor."

In the same paper, Peter Jenkins wrote: "The Wallabies dodged a World Cup bullet but landed in the gun sights of the All Blacks when they held off luckless Ireland . . . The Wallabies can breathe easy, for even this performance will be enough to account for the clueless Scots. But they will not, cannot, win the World Cup playing like they did last night.

"Ireland were gutsy and persistent. They hit hard and had the class of hooker Keith Wood and O'Driscoll. But they do not have the power of England, the pace of New Zealand or the finesse of France."

Greg Growden's verdict in the The Sunday Age was that Australia had "survived a big scare as Ireland almost ruined its World Cup defence with the most spirited of second-half comebacks.

"The Australian team management was late last night searching for the smelling salts, when in the final minutes of the dramatic pool match Ireland came so close to inflicting an unexpected defeat. But somehow Australia held on, despite almost putting its head in a noose with several mistakes in the final few minutes."

Under the heading, "Irish lose ground, not friends," Greg Baum wrote: "There were more Australians naturally, but the Irish were louder and more tuneful. It was the same on the field. Ireland had more territory and more possession, but not nine-tenths of the law.

"It was ever thus for the Irish in Australia, since Ned Kelly's day. Possession and territory are recurring themes in the history of the Irish in Australia; all it needed was the big, bad English to make a morality play. They are not far away."