Ireland v Wales reactionTHERE WAS never going to be a Damascene conversion on the part of either the Ireland coach Eddie O'Sullivan or the media assembled in the Four Seasons hotel yesterday for what is euphemistically termed the "coach's catch-up".

Ireland's 16-12 defeat to Wales at Croke Park on Saturday was either a disappointing, narrow reverse mitigated by a couple of incidents in the match or an Irish disaster pockmarked by inhibition; one-dimensional rugby confined by a narrow ambit and unaltered by the changing circumstances of the 80 minutes.

The only common accord in the widely differing perspectives on a second defeat in this Six Nations Championship was the word "disappointment". It peppered questions and also was contained in O'Sullivan's first answer, though his feelings were probably better summarised in the expression "a kick in the guts", which he used to describe the result.

Armed with notes, statistics and the opportunity to view a video of the match, the coach offered the following diagnosis of Ireland's malaise on the day.

"The most telling factor was field position. They (Wales) dominated field position and they had a lot of attacking opportunities. We didn't create as many; I think we had about five real good field positions to attack from.

"That was on the back of them kicking a lot of ball deep. We didn't get into ping-pong with them; we kept trying to run back at them or put it out of play. We didn't want to get into loose, long kicks down the field, which would have suited Wales. So what we did was, we either took it to the line and tried to counterattack off it or we put it into the stand.

"That gave them a lot of field position, which meant they were in our half a lot. We didn't get any kind of really juicy attacking positions over the 80 minutes. They had a lot more lineouts than we had because we were putting the ball out.

"That's the most telling thing that we never got into the field positions we wanted to. But having said that, they dominated field position and when you consider they had that much field position and 50 per cent of the ball, they didn't create very much."

The last sentiment would hold little currency in most quarters because Wales did create but just did not exploit three or four gilt-edged opportunities.

Far more damning in the eyes of many Croke Park patrons than Saturday's defeat was the manner of it. It was an accusation O'Sullivan rejected: "We played a very direct game with them. After 20 minutes, I was pretty happy with it. We did everything we wanted to.

"We had them pinned back in the corners, we went very hard at them around the fringes, and we put ourselves in a good position.

"We were six-nil up, and had Shane's (Horgan) try been awarded it would have put us in a great position. So I don't have any problem with the way we played the game. If we went out and lost the game by 20 points, you could say 'you got it really badly wrong.' But for all the opportunities Wales had they didn't do anything with it.

"If we were so bad and Wales were so good, why was there one point in it with five minutes on the clock? We must have been doing something right. It mightn't have been pretty, it mightn't have been attractive, and maybe that's what people are mixing up. We rolled up our sleeves and went at it up front.

"I wouldn't buy into (the idea) that we did anything wrong with the game plan. It wasn't our usual one, but that's what Wales wanted. If that game opened up, we could have still lost it and lost it by more if it became a game of touch rugby."

It is, by extension, a pretty interesting critique of the Irish players and their inability to cope with opposing teams that boast a decent skill set, expansive patterns and a primary inclination to counterattack. Surely Ireland teams are not destined to cower behind the safety blanket of low-risk rugby, petrified to turn over ball.

O'Sullivan was philosophical when the interrogation took on a more personal hue. "In this business at the moment, it seems that you're one loss away from being under pressure for your job. That's the way it seems to work," he said.

"I suppose it's easy to sit on one side of a laptop and look for somebody's head on a plate, but I've been there before. All you can do is keep working on, and I've done that before. It's a game of results, there's no question about it, and when you don't get results that question comes up; it's a simple fact of life. From my perspective, I would always do the same thing: get on with the job."

So do you still have the confidence of the players?

"I believe so. I don't have any doubt about that. That's not an issue from where I am."

The suggestion that Ireland, given the influx of young players, primarily because of injury, are a side in transition was teased out, the coach pointing out the difficult of juggling the demands of the IRFU to win Six Nations matches and the lack of a gap in the international calendar to blood tyros.

Given a free hand - there is nothing at stake in London next weekend - would he introduce younger players with a view to the future? O'Sullivan's answer is emphatic: "I think in a championship, no, you'd like to go out and try to get a result. You want to get the best team on the field available and try and get a result.

"There's more latitude at that end, I think. We have to go out and try to finish the championship as best we can. We're hugely disappointed and (Wales) was a pivotal game. It does mean our championship is over, but it doesn't mean we should go willy-nilly to Twickenham. We should try and get a result there."

It's hard to escape the feeling that, much as with this defeat, the quality of Ireland's effort in Twickenham will, in the eyes of supporters and media, carry as much weight as the final score.