Tue 10 Oct 2007Let the spinning stop and O'Sullivan goOn Rugby:The final table tells no lies. Everybody
in the Pool of Sharks played each other once and at the end of it
Argentina are, deservedly, out in front, three points ahead of
France, with Ireland - drowning like condemned men long before
Sunday's sadly predictable end - well adrift a further six points
back, four ahead of Georgia. The respective points differences
underline this tellingly: Argentina (+110), France (+151), Ireland
(-18) and Georgia (-61).Ireland finished where they deserved to finish, a distant
third-best or third-worst, depending on your point of view. No
amount of spinning or abrogation of responsibilities can hide this.
Ireland came up well short not just of expectations but performance
levels and the fault lines start at the very top.