Canada will present the Irish team with a very different test, both mentally and physically, to that of their outing against the All Blacks. Ireland went into the New Zealand match as the greatest of underdogs and knowing they had little to lose. We have always performed best in these circumstances. Our record as favourites, however, is not heartening. No matter how much warning the players are given by the management, it will still be difficult to reproduce the same urgency and passion we saw against the All Blacks, particularly in the opening phases of play.

It's easy to motivate a team which everybody is expecting to get hammered, which everybody has written off. It is far harder to do when a team knows it is expected to win and, no matter how well they play, defeat will not be acceptable.

The past couple of weeks have shown the vast chasm which exists between the standards in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Some may feel England's score against New Zealand was respectable, but I thought their lap of honour after the game said a lot more about the state of rugby and the approach to it in this part of the world than the score.

You would be waiting a long time to see a defeated All Blacks, Springboks or Australian side do a lap of honour.

I confess to knowing very little about the Canadian side, save that they have achieved some notable results in recent years. They are at an advantage over some other "emerging" nations in that they are able to produce players with the required physical attributes. They have been described as unimaginative, but it is understandable in a country with such a short international rugby history that their concentration has probably been on getting the basics right. They will, in time, develop players and a pattern with a greater flair, especially when some of the youngsters who have been playing at an early stage come through.

They are always fierce competitors. I do not expect their forwards to give much away to the Irish pack. Their difficulties, however, seem to lie in their back play, which does not capitalise on the ample supply of possession laid on.

Ireland can draw a certain amount of comfort from the success of the Ireland A side in Belfast during the week. I do not believe, however, there is much between the current national team and the A side in many positions. In fact, it would be interesting to see them compete against each other in the way in which the Probables used to play the Possibles. The back line on the A team, if anything, looks a potentially better attacking force than the national side, which, on the other hand, looks to have the better defensive back line.

The national side got little opportunity in attack against the All Blacks. These opportunities should be far more numerous tomorrow. We await with interest to see how the back line will handle those opportunities. Equally, I note the Canadians have made several changes from their A side, which makes it difficult to assess the strength of their first team. Ireland should be in a better position after this game to assess where we are, both in terms of the development of this particular group of players and our international status.

Brian Ashton has spoken about developing an Irish style of game. We have to accept that the traditional, destructive rugby days are over. The laws now demand that a side must retain the ball when they have it or else they will concede scores.

Retention demands, in turn, that possession must be used. I think that it is in this area that our biggest difficulties still lie. It is much easier to coach players to defend and tackle than it is to teach them how to use possession better.

Using possession is all about making the correct decisions as often as possible, especially under pressure. That requires confidence, concentration and understanding of what the team is trying to do. The concentration levels should certainly be better this year, given that fitness has improved, as was seen against the All Blacks

Confidence will, of course, take time, but the players should certainly have a great deal more of it against Canada. Their understanding, hopefully, is improved by the increased number of sessions and the availability of videos, etc. In this regard, the coach is very much a teacher who has to make sure that his players understand what he is asking them to do, and why.

By defeating Canada, and Italy in the following outing, Ireland may be able to face the Five Nations championship with much more confidence and can, realistically, hope for a respectable outcome. It would also encourage supporters greatly.

But should we lose to Canada and then away to Italy, we will not be able to write off such defeats as surprises or put them down to the unexpected as we did in the past.

I suspect that the Irish management will want an impressive win above all else. There are occasions when a coach will be more interested in the quality of the performance rather than the result. In this match, we need both quality of performance as well as a win. The damage done by a defeat as we face the Five Nations Championship would be far greater than a poor winning performance.

The players will be acutely aware, particularly in view of the A team performance, that many of them are playing for their places. Whatever excuses one was entitled to make after the All Blacks match, there will be no such allowances made against this opposition, and they will find the post-match analyses far sharper. Once again, we should have no difficulty with our scrum and line-out, and we should win a fair share of possession in the loose. It will all come down, quite simply, to a question as to how we use our possession and how well we defend.

(In an interview with Sean Kilfeather)