Ireland can't rely on rivals having a bad day at office

On Rugby: If Ireland don't meet Argentina again in the next four years, it would still be too soon. As most of Los Pumas' opponents these past few years will testify, even if you beat them they have an uncanny habit of making you win ugly, writes Gerry Thornley.

David Humphreys' pre-match comparison of them with the arch Munster spoilers of a few years back is entirely valid.

So analysis of Ireland's performance has to bear that in mind. Whether beating them or losing to them, Australia (twice), France (twice) and South Africa in the last year alone have all had to get down and dirty. It's no coincidence that all were considered to have played poorly, each failing to find their rhythm against the Pumas.

Furthermore, and not for the first time against the South Americans, the magnitude of the occasion seemed to get to Ireland, who were as nervous as a litter of kittens in a new home.

So the hope must be that the pressure will be off Ireland next Saturday at the Telstra Dome, as both Eddie O'Sullivan and Eddie Jones have suggested, whereas the hosts and holders are continually under pressure to deliver, even if they, too, have already secured a place in the quarter-finals.

Of course, there are always two ways of looking at these things, and it could mean that the Wallabies will play with more intensity than an Irish side already comforted in the knowledge that they have achieved their primary goal of regaining their place amongst the world's elite eight, and with one eye on their quarter-final the following weekend.

Yet, to be honest, if Ireland are going to make any further impression on this World Cup, they will have to step up their performance markedly. The Wallabies are gathering momentum. They have been far more penetrative across the gain line against the same three opponents Ireland have played and have recycled the ball with, as Namibian coach Dave Waterston put it, "frightening" speed.

They have also had an extra day's rest, and were able to rest virtually their entire first-choice team. By comparison, Ireland have used nine players in all three games. Furthermore, if Ireland succumb to Australia, France lie in wait in Melbourne on Sunday week, for no matter what happens in Pool B they cannot be overtaken by the Scots even if lightening struck and their second string were beaten by the US this Friday.

And therein lies the rub, for the first-choice French XV, which beat Scotland, will be rested en bloc from the starting team on Friday, and they will go into their quarter-final relatively well rested. Of course, there remains the hope that Ireland have a big performance still in them, and that Australia or more likely the mercurial French might have one off-day in them.

Except that Les Bleus aren't looking like their customary mercurial selves at this World Cup. Their performances have been quite controlled by their standards, using their lineout maul and strength up front to grind the Scottish pack into the ground and pull clear in the last quarter, much as they had done in overcoming the Japanese.

France still managed to play with a fair amount of width and have now finally hit on their ideal 10-12-13 combination with the blooming of the brilliant Frederic Michalak at outhalf, the improvement of Yannick Jauzion at inside centre and the return of guiding light Tony Marsh at outside centre.

Michalak still looks a little too nonchalant about his place-kicking, but then again even Jonny Wilkinson proved he was human under pressure against the Samoans. The more this writer sees of them and England, the more convincing is the case for France toppling Les Rosbifs if they should meet in the semi-finals. For all their improved organisation and structure under Bernard Laporte, France retain more of a capacity to elevate a game with moments of individual flair than England, who don't seem to be at their best.

But what about the Samoans? Despite little or no help from their Big Brother in New Zealand, or Australia (France do so much more for both Romanian and Italian rugby), for such a tiny, financially crippled rugby nation to be leading the most financially powerful rugby nation on the planet with 16 minutes to go was a monumental achievement. So difficult were they to contain that England had to use 16 players. Once again, they have been the story of the World Cup.

So at last RWC 2003 is alive and kicking. It took its time getting there, and it reached something of a nadir on Saturday, but it was almost worth the wait given the events of Sunday.

Watching the Wallabies crush Namibia on Saturday and break all those records for breaking records, this reporter has never been so tempted to leave a match - and that was in the first-half. It was a far from edifying experience, especially when Matt Rogers stopped under the posts and had a joke with referee Joel Jutge and team-mate Matt Burke before touching the ball down for another try.

Jutge's performance in the first quarter, including the award of a penalty try, was typical of the harsh treatment meted out to the minnows and gave further validity to the remarks of Namibian coach Dave Waterston. Jutge redeemed himself with more sympathetic handling of the game thereafter, but a worse example was the performance of Pablo di Luca, who was very severe on Tonga, when they were routed by the All Blacks. The decision to sinbin their full back, Sateki Tu'ipolotu, for merely kicking the ball ahead after it had popped out on the blind side of a ruck (and from what seemed an onside position) was outrageous.

As expected, in this column anyway, bonus points have largely been a red herring, and the only relevance they provided was in giving Scotland a one-point advantage over the Fijians in the Pool B chase for second place - and that will only matter if those two draw their head-to-head on Saturday.

You couldn't really take Saturday's "encounter" at the Adelaide Oval remotely seriously. On one of the rare occasions, nay the only one, when the Namibians took play beyond a couple of phases, their lock, Heino Senekal, was hogging the touchline and waving his hand to signal they fleetingly had an overlap if the ball quickly came his way.

But as one press box wag remarked, maybe he was just hailing a taxi.