High stools agree, Ireland need to up their game against France

Long before the match had started the green shirts were bobbing around town. Two of them outside KFC on Leicester Square were tearing apart a spiced chicken carcass, three more trailing up Rupert Street. Here they were spilling towards Waxy O’Connor’s in the centre of bustling London.

If a mind took you, it was a night to wallow and gloat, the England team buried on Saturday, Stuart Lancaster's obituary written large in all the Sunday papers and here Ireland a step away from doing what the hosts could not, and all while their wounds were still raw.

The mood of doom and gloom that swept the city was banished from the Irish bar and with Union Jacks fluttering from the roof of a building across the road there was a bubbling green postage stamp sized part of Leicester Square optimistic and breezy.

Mark and Conor from Dublin, working in London’s Finance district, usually came to watch the soccer. Man U, who else. But today was a day for the rugby shirts.

Waxy's, a cavernous place, groans when Sergio Parisse knocks back Mike Ross early doors and when Keith Earls runs in for his try to break Brian O'Driscoll's record the floor lifts.

It’s a day of Arsenal playing Manchester United and in most other parts of town rugby would not be getting get a look in on the pub television.

“I’m a Gaelic man. I’d just as soon watch it on the big screen and have a few beers,” says Conal from Co Down, explaining why he didn’t take the trip to the Olympic Stadium.

That journey would take you to the end of the track over in East London. And if they want to go to Cardiff next week for Ireland’s game against France, ticket website Stub Hub have offers for over €270.

Johnny Sexton kicks a penalty. Another ripple of clapping. But maybe a bigger one arrives for Tommy Bowe as he rises high, sails in and takes the ball.

It’s rugby all the way but this is London and the news that Arsenal have shot to a three goal lead over Manchester United can’t be contained.

The score line generates a great contrast of emotion as only Man United can. Half are delighted, the other half glum.

The Ireland match, though, is one of those games where nobody can relax, a wrong decision, or an error or some godly inspiration from Italy could swing momentum.

A little collective anxiety too that maybe there’s better performances to be squeezed out of these Irish players facing into the French.

“Ireland haven’t been tested yet, really” says Mark. “They won it but I wouldn’t say by a whole lot, Even though Italy are a tough side, you’d have to expect Ireland to beat them.

"That's one thing about Joe Schmidt, he seems to have got the team be consistently good, they don't tend to play really crap."

There isn’t the delight you might expect at England going out of the tournament, although, there are some hard hearts there, no doubt. But here in Waxy O’Connor’s, they don’t really care because Ireland are through to the quarter-finals.

Job done, green shirts funnel out the front door for a good natured smoke and for the first time you can see the shape of the room.

“Now’s the big one,” says Conal in his nordy accent. Now’s the big one indeed. France next week