Ireland know it’s do-or-die against the Danes; Gordon D’Arcy on how to beat the All Blacks

And so it all comes down to the Danes in Dublin. When the fixtures came out for Ireland's Euro 2020 qualifying campaign the sneaking suspicion was always there that the final fixture on November 18th would be make-or-break. And so it is to be. Last night's 2-0 defeat to Switzerland in Geneva was Ireland's first loss of the campaign and came on a disappointing night which also saw Séamus Coleman receive a red card, meaning he will miss the final match against Denmark. It's now backs against the wall time for Ireland if Mick McCarthy is to lead them to next summer's tournament, reports Emmet Malone from Geneva. The Ireland manager did change his system from the one that played out a drab 0-0 draw against Georgia in Tbilisi last Saturday by bringing in Aaron Connolly, Alan Browne and Enda Stevens. However, as Ken Early writes, that 3-5-2 system did not go to plan as Ireland looked a bit like a team trying out a new formation in a pre-season friendly on a boggy pitch. After the game McCarthy remained adamant that he would have taken this position at the start of the campaign and, given that Ireland have never qualified for a major tournament before the final game, it's difficult to argue with him but the fact remains that Ireland have scored just six goals in seven qualifying matches with three of them coming against Gibraltar. It certainly wasn't the most inspiring performance last night and that reflects in the player ratings handed out by Malachy Clerkin.

So it won't be a double header of Irish success this week and now the focus turns to the rugby team as the clock ticks ever closer to Saturday morning and the heavyweight quarter-final showdown against the All Blacks. Gordon D'Arcy never managed to beat the best team in the world during his time as an Ireland player but he did come mighty close and knows exactly how their weaknesses can be targetted if Ireland are to pull this off. "I know what Johnny, Pete and Rory will be like. Rob and Cian too. These are men who between them have won and done it all in rugby. Well, everything but play in a World Cup semi-final. Not all of them are going to make it. Sacrifice is needed," he writes.

Much of the focus already has been on the man in the middle for Saturday's game and how he might perform. Nigel Owens is certainly no stranger to the big stage but Ireland have been on the wrong end of his refereeing before. However, as Gerry Thornley writes from Tokyo, both sides are quite happy with his appointment. Speaking of referees, our columnist Owen Doyle has been keeping a close eye on the officials all tournament from his position as former IRFU referee director and he writes this morning that the disciplinary systems is sending out mixed messages. "The insistence that these [HIGH]tackles are 'reckless' but not 'deliberate' needs consideration. It's a convenient way of keeping away from high-end sanctions. It's bad policy to wait for a serious injury, which is the way it can be interpreted though, I can accept, not intended," he writes. Don't forget you can follow all of the build-up to Japan with columns, analysis, news, interviews, stats, fixtures and much more on our dedicated 2019 Rugby World Cup site.

Elsewhere, Seán Moran looks this morning at the merits of a Tier 2 championship which will be discussed this weekend at a special congress while Irish Olympic gymnast Rhys McClenaghan tells Aonghus Ó Maicín that he "cried like a baby" after achieving his dream of qualifying for Tokyo next year.