Punters' moments - Risteard Cooper

BEST MATCH: Fiji v Wales. It sparkled from beginning to end. It might have been short on defensive quality, but there was no shortage of courage, pace, skill, creativity and wonderful tries.

WORST MATCH : I was in a Parisian bar being charged €9 a pint watching the sludge that was Namibia v Georgia. It was truly awful stuff. Low on invention and high on errors, it barely warranted TV coverage. Most depressing of all, it rekindled the bewildering realisation that we the Irish had somehow managed to struggle against both these teams.

BEST MOMENT : I think it has to be when Tony "Call me Spreaders" Spreadbury was TMO for Argentina v South Africa. After one replay my cat (as distinct from Mike Catt) knew Manuel Contepomi had not grounded the ball properly. The camera was fixed on "Spreaders" in his viewing box watching angle after angle as we waited and waited. We saw it from yet another angle, which was categorical, absolutely-no-doubt-about-it proof it was not a try, but "Spreaders" wanted one more look. Then he decided, he'd made up his mind: "You may award the try." Simply the best.

OUTSTANDING PLAYER : Paddy Wallace. Looked very sharp in the warm-ups, particularly good at squats. Showed great flexibility when stretching his hamstrings and was always willing to look for the ball during the game - if it ever landed near where he was sitting. He never sat back in the comfort zone, however - the benches in France are pretty hard.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT : That Eddie O'Sullivan didn't seek the expertise of Steve Staunton during the "blip". Steve may lack experience, but he knows a thing or two about blips. Also his man-management skills have shown that great moments of philosophy are not the sole reserve of the oval-ball connoisseurs. I'm sure I heard him say this week, "No man is an Ireland. Apart from Stephen, obviously." All we got from Eddie for the last six weeks was "You can't unring a bell."

© 2007 The Irish Times

This article appears in the print edition of the Irish Times