It's the hope that gets you - Part 2 - Ireland V Wales

It came as no surprise to me when Hope once again teased then walked out the door with the other guy on her arm. That she did so demonstrates that she is a discriminating judge of manhood and justice. Wales were by far the superior team on a day when Ireland were mechanical, witless and one-dimensional. We were a team who never really believed in our own ability or our own "colour-by-numbers" gameplan; instead we tried to stop Wales executing theirs.

Wales had ambition, self-belief and courage - Ireland did not. When these fundamentals of rugby (and of indeed of life) are absent the finer characteristics like skill and tactics are largely irrelevant.

And so today I too must join the chorus calling for a change in the Irish Management. Eddie O'Sullivan has done great things for Irish rugby over the past few years, things for which we must all be very grateful. However it is now clear that his growing conservatism, scientific and methodical approach to the game have overthrown the passion, imagination and bottle that characterise successful teams and has thwarted the natural talents of the current squad of Irish players. The IRFU made a mistake awarding Eddie a four-year contract before the world cup debacle - they must not compound that mistake by allowing that contract to run any further.

As for Hope? Well she showed up in Anfield over the last couple of weeks wearing red. She wants me to bring her to Moscow ;-)

It's the hope that gets you - Ireland v Scotland

An acquaintance I met on Saturday reminded me of one of my old sayings - "I can handle the defeats - It's the hope that gets you".

You see - for my troubles I follow Mayo in GAA, Ireland in Rugby, and Liverpool in soccer. With the notable (but sporadic) exception of Liverpool each of these teams has promised much and then failed to deliver when it mattered most. This would not be so bad if each of these teams did not show flashes of brilliance which make you think maybe ... just maybe ... this is the year, this is the team: Mayo in 1996, 1997, 2004 & 2006; Ireland in 2007 & Liverpool pretty much every year but 2005. They beat the favourites or put in a performance that would beat any team in the competition - they light a candle in your cynical sporting heart - logic is dispelled and you are left with that most fragile and schitzophrenic of emotions - Hope.

Hope has seduced me in the past, she has put on her best dress, winked and beckoned me to come hither. I have bought her drinks and danced the night with her and she has smiled warmly, looked me in the eye and then whispered in my ear to wait while she got her coat .... I have waited many times over too many years only to see her disappearing out the door with her old boyfriends: Kerry, France and Man U leaving me with her ugly cousin - disappointment.

And so I have become parsimonious with hope - I do not buy her a drink nor invite her to sit beside me, I do not seek her out and yet she finds me. She was in Croke Park on Saturday like Salome - alluring and exciting - making promises I know she may not keep and yet when she whispered in my ear I thought maybe this is the time ....

Ireland v France - same old, same old

I have been watching Irish rugby for long enough to recognise a glorious defeat when I see one. I for one have seen too many. I don't see this most recent episode one as a step forward - I see it as a step backward but hopefully a short one. Yet again the most talented team that I have ever seen wearing the green left it until they were 20 points adrift in Paris before they woke up, when they did they showed how talented they really are against an inexperienced French side - but it was too late. Defeat again.

Ireland's first half display in defence was abject. The gaps left by the Irish out wide were vast; the combination of Trimble, Murphy, Kearney and Dempsey were like ol' coyotes chasing the French road-runners - Rougerie, Clerc & Heymans. The results were predictably unfunny from an Irish perspective.

We did lots of good things in offense - right up to the point where we won lineouts in the French 22. Then, obligingingly, we passed the ball back to the French while we rigged anvils to ropes and put sticks of dynamite in all the wrong places to stop them. Not good enough. On this showing the Jackman fans (myself included) must be a little quiter this morning as Best did well when he came in.

The second half saw a big improvement from Ireland and a dip in interest for the French that they nearly became their undoing - Ireland were rampant at times with the pack putting in as good a performance as I have seen from them in many years. The sight of a French scrum moving backward required a double-take. However lets not forget that for all the Irish dominance and valour in the second half, we scored only 3 points in the last 20 minutes of the game. Too little too late.

There was merit in this performance and comfort to be drawn from it - but we cannot go back to the bad old days where getting within a score of France was considered a victory. We had - and spurned - an opportunity to beat France in Paris for only the 2nd time in my living memory. Ireland must start, and finish off games like this. Starting late and falling just short does not impress me much.