Wallace feeds off Munster heroics

David Wallace believes Ireland can use Munster's Heineken Cup heroics to inspire them to World Cup victory against Argentina this weekend.

Ireland head into their final group match at Parc des Princes on Sunday needing to beat the in-form Pumas by at least seven points and score a minimum of four tries.

In 2003 and 2006, Munster upset the odds by staging similarly miraculous victories against Gloucester and Sale to progress in the European Cup.

Several players involved in those matches will face Argentina and Wallace, who scored the vital fourth try against Sale, believes their experience could prove invaluable.

"Back then what Munster had to do was touted as mission impossible - so we can take some hope from that. Those wins taught us nothing is impossible," said the openside flanker.

"It's very much a mind-set that you have to have - that it's do or die. We will use that to go out, first of all to win the game, and then build from there."

Ireland may have to be patient, however.

"The first thing those games taught us is not to panic because a lot of those tries came very late on," Wallace recalled.

"It's something which we have seen in this World Cup when Argentina scored very late on to get their bonus point against Georgia.

"Basically you have got to go toe-to-toe for the whole game and wear a team down before you get the tries. That's something we have got to work on and bring into the game on Sunday.

"If we can get our defence right and go out with the right attitude in attack and cut out the silly mistakes and discipline errors, we are certainly on the right road."

Ireland have endured a dismal World Cup, narrowly beating Namibia and Georgia before being dismantled by a far superior France.

They contributed to their own downfall against the hosts by conceding penalties - but Wallace has taken comfort from what he sees as a gradual improvement during the tournament.

"For the first couple of games, even in the games leading up to the World Cup, we were just making far too many fundamental errors," he said.

"We made lots of knock-ons and have been careless with the ball. That maybe knocked a bit of wind out of our sails. In the Georgia game we improved and in the France game we improved again."

Even so, there is much progress to be made quickly

"We maybe got it out of our system. But unfortunately, on the last day we gave away far too many penalties and gave them a huge cushion points-wise to sit on," Wallace added.

"Against a French team with the players they have, you can't afford to do that - especially at a World Cup. They were able to sit back and relax and play some rugby after that. That's where we didn't want to be."  PA