There was to be no repeat yesterday of the famous narrow World Cup defeat at the hands of the Australians at Lansdowne Road eight years ago.
Australia ran out easy victors 233, the margin being 20 times greater than it was on that famous occasion in 1991. From the first kick to final whistle, only one team looked like winning this match.
"We're very disappointed," said the Irish coach, Warren Gatland, afterwards. "We let ourselves down. We didn't fire a shot."
The President, Mrs McAleese, was one witness to the defeat; so too was the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, who showed his ticket at the side entrance just like the rest of us. Very Bertie to arrive at an international event as indistinguishably as the people he governs.
He might soon have wished he was distinguishably elsewhere. In the course of the entire first half, the Irish players inspected the Australian turf only on rare occasions, and seemed as baffled there as nuns in a bookies shop.
They seemed relieved at the inhospitability of the Australian visitors, who quickly showed them the door back to their own half.
It was there that virtually the entire match was played; and throughout the first half, played messily, as if the two teams were attempting their own combination rules.
For all their bad manners in their own half, the visitors were kindness itself in attack, spilling the ball freely, knocking on frequently, and missing three penalties, which even Celia, watching at home, must have been confident of kicking without changing her shoes.
Ireland were fortunate to end the half only six points down. The Irish attack was as potent as butterfly wings on armoured steel; only worse could come, and it did. As in the crowd, where Matilda handsomely outsang Athenry, the Australians on the field pitched their game up a notch or two. Ireland's cause was hardly advanced by the referee penalising Trevor Brennan for being attacked and beaten by three Australians - perhaps he felt the odds were too heavily in Trevor's favour.
It made little difference. The two wonderful converted tries and a penalty by the Australians set against David Humphreys' single penalty highlighted not only the difference between the two teams but the difference between the rugby cultures they represent.
High hopes had been cherished in some quarters for this match: now we know the truth, and for Irish rugby it was a very painful truth too.