For tens of thousands of Irish rugby supporters, the weekend has been spent coming to terms with the complete meltdown of the Irish team at the World Cup. Lofty ambitions of reaching the semi-finals of the tournament or even the final itself have been replaced by the stark realism that the current team looks destined for an ignominious exit next weekend at the pool stages of rugby's greatest event.
Initial disappointment at the poor performance of the team in their three World Cup games has now turned to a more critical examination of how a team that had been rated among the world's best in recent years virtually imploded on the biggest stage of all. Everything short of global warming has been blamed for the unexpected collapse - outdated tactics, an overtrained squad, bad preparation, unhappy players - but the most compelling arguments for the team's spectacular fall from grace have to be laid at the door of the coach and, by extension, his employers, the IRFU.
Eddie O'Sullivan has enjoyed a very successful reign as coach to the national team, winning three Triple Crowns in his term as well as scoring notable wins over South Africa and Australia. However, he made it clear on many occasions over the past four years that his ultimate focus was on the 2007 World Cup and taking a very gifted group of Irish players to the final stages of the tournament. Bringing a team to a peak of mental and physical preparation for an event such as the World Cup is a huge part of the remit of a modern-day coach. Millions of euros were spent on ensuring that this Irish team would go to France with every possible advantage. That programme was overseen by the national coach and the IRFU and has failed dismally.
A team that should have been bounding on to the pitches in Bordeaux and Paris has looked leaden-footed and completely at odds with itself. The expansive style of play shown in the thrilling victories over England and Italy earlier this year has been replaced by a conservative and one-dimensional approach. While the players have accepted their part in the whole debacle to date, the coaching staff and IRFU have been less inclined to put their hand up. That reluctance may be based on the embarrassment of granting the national coach a four-year extension to his contract before a ball was kicked at the world cup. That extraordinary decision is almost certain to haunt the IRFU in the months to come, particularly if public disquiet spills over to the commercial world, which pumps millions into the game through sponsorships and endorsement deals.