ON RUGBY:England will regroup, France are stuck with Lièvremont, Wales aren't as good as they think, Scotland and Italy still struggle. And Ireland are the top team up north

A WEEK is a long time in sport, eh? Just in the nick of time, but better later than never. And, much more importantly, such was the nature of Ireland’s win that the squad and management can believe what the IRB rankings say. That they are the leading European contenders at the World Cup.

And why not? The core group of players who have won three Heineken Cups and a Grand Slam between them in the last five years remain intact, buttressed by the emergence of Mike Ross, Seán O’Brien and others.

Granted, so little enthused, much less thrilled, or even stood out in the 2011 Six Nations. The number of tries went up marginally, from 48 last season to 51 this time, at an average of 3.4, but this is still well below the 52 tries at an average of 5.8 per match in last year’s Tri-Nations.

Referees and touchjudges dominated, along with defences, to an unhealthy degree. Compared to the all-singing, all-dancing Super 15, it’s easy to become a tad gloomy about Europe’s prospects at the World Cup.

The quality of skills at any degree of tempo or intensity compared poorly with the Super 15 (though tries are down there too), and presumably will do so even more so compared to the Tri-Nations.

But then again, that’s usually the case. To some degree, the taut, tribal warfare of the Six Nations is better preparation for the World Cup, and especially the knockout stages.

Regrets? Ireland will still have a few, curiously perhaps even more so after Saturday’s performance.

Messrs Poite, Pearson, Owen and Kaplan (with the, em, help of Allan) gave them a raw deal. Recall, too, how that opening win over France two years ago generated the momentum for the Grand Slam, or alternatively how the first half against South Africa left them playing catch-up for the rest of November. Who knows what might have happened had the great one found Fergus McFadden or Ireland taken other chances in Rome to pull clear in that opener. (Think too of the 2007 World Cup opener against Namibia, and it demonstrates the importance of the opening clash with Eddie’s Eagles on 9/11).

Ireland may well also reflect that they adopted too much of a running game against France before eventually finding the right balance against England. Recall that scrum on halfway after the McFadden try and France’s restart, the elaborate 9-13 switch that misfired, and compare it with Jonny Sexton’s fourth-minute touchfinder last Saturday. Welcome to the Aviva. It’s all rugby mate.

The pity is that there was assuredly a second slam in the core of this side, for whom a chance like this might not come along again.

On the premise that you learn more from defeat than victory, Saturday’s result may actually be of more long-term benefit to England than a flattering slam. The swagger of Twickenham evaporated under pressure, exposing limitations in their game (passing for the sake of it), and, in the absence of Lewis Moody and Mike Tindall, there was a comparative shortfall in captains and lieutenants against a team with two Lions captains and two more who have captained their province.

Martin Johnson also has a real blind spot at inside centre too, but the return of Tindall and Moody, along with Dan Sheridan, Courtney Lawes and a fully rehabilitated Tom Croft, and the lessons of last Saturday, will make them stronger.

It’s worth noting that they suffered their record 43-13 defeat to Ireland in Croke Park in 2007 amid a shambolic Six Nations campaign before reaching a second successive World Cup final. They know how to plot their way through the pool stages and, more to the point, how to cope with the pressures of knockout tournament rugby.

England will hope France don’t repeat one of their inspired, one-off muggings of New Zealand in the pool stages, because provided they beat Argentina and Scotland, they will then face Les Bleus in the quarter-finals.

And as the last two semi-finals underlined, even buoyant French teams come over all spooked against a team in white with a red rose on their shirts.

Furthermore, France’s win over Wales was a good result for France, but assuredly an even better result for the rest of the world if it keeps Marc Lièvremont in the job. There has just been way too much selectorial tinkering and way too many scars (the thumpings in Twickenham two years ago and South Africa and Argentina last summer, the record home defeat to Australia and the historic defeat to Italy) in his volatile reign.

Lièvremont passes the buck almost as well as some of his backs. After the November debacle, he cited the influence of his assistant coaches and vowed he would assume more control.

After the Rome debacle he shamelessly blamed his players with an immature diatribe. Quite how any player could trust him after all of this beggars belief.

Coaching France – given the primacy of their Top 14 – cannot be an easy job, and he may have been a good coach in the making, but a stint as French under-20 coach and with Dax in ProD2 simply cannot prepare him for coaching in the Test arena. One still maintains that, were Guy Noves or Fabien Galthie installed this week, they would become contenders.

Fourth place is a bit harsh on Wales, though one of the bigger four had to finish there. They’re not as good as they think they are, but James Hook threatens to give them more at outhalf with Stephen Jones’s experience from the bench, and Dwayne Peel still quickens their game. And they’ll be better than they were when Gethin Jenkins and Adam Jones return.

Scotland, too, may develop their game further with Ruaridh Jackson at outhalf, and will probably be better come the World Cup.

Italy too are full of grizzled veterans, whose game is evolving, and they will cope with the pressure when they target the final pool game against Ireland in Dunedin. Yet, despite their competitiveness in three home games, it’s worth noting that their two professional sides managed one win in the Heineken Cup this season, and one of them has yet to win in the Magners League.

And ultimately, when all are at their peak, Ireland reminded us and themselves that they are still the best team in Europe.