Pool D/France v Ireland:There was little between the teams but the French were clinical. They didn't give Ireland any outlets to exploit. They were quite content to wear down the Irish.

It was a dour, old-fashioned game of rugby football that stayed true to the usual routine of France thumping Ireland in Paris. Some things never change.

Ireland were never going to come here and comprehensively beat a French team staring into the abyss. They simply don't have the ability to cut open a world-class defence. Once maybe, but that didn't even occur - not that the French set the world alight with ball-in-hand either.

If Ireland were going to win it was always going to be by the slimmest of margins - be it a drop goal or late score.

They needed to produce a flawless performance, and while this was a marked improvement on the Namibia and Georgia games, and they can take positives from that, it was some way short of the "genuine contenders" tag put on them prior to the World Cup.

A lot of the boxes Ireland needed to tick to improve on their poor start were ticked.

It was just that France ground out the victory by accumulating three scores off Irish errors. The Irish defence was excellent, but it is crucial they trusted their system and rolled away. They didn't and were punished.

When it got to 12-3 the feeling was one more score and it was game over. Frankie Sheahan was then guilty of needlessly lifting Jerome Thion in a maul. Another three points from Elissalde and that was it.

The two Vincent Clerc tries were merely the final nails in the coffin.

The lineout was a shambles.

If Ireland could have tacked on a couple of penalties and scored a try off the two attacking lineout platforms they engineered early in the second-half, it could have been a different story. Instead, Jerry Flannery and then Frankie Sheahan (when Flannery was in the blood bin) failed to find Simon Easterby at the tail of the lineout.

With this key cog in the Irish armoury malfunctioning, there was always the chance of the French pulling clear if they got the breakthrough try.

The credit must go to the French doing their homework. They attacked the Irish lineout right from the first throw when Sébastien Chabal stole in front of Donncha O'Callaghan.

I thought we would see the Irish flyers as the game progressed. The first half was fine. It was about putting the ball up in the air, turning the French around. Trying to force mistakes. Unfortunately, the Argentinians had already implemented the same idea. They were ready for it this time. Clément Poitrenaud caught two early garryowens (as opposed to Cédric Heymans' nightmare at fullback against the Pumas).

After that, they seemed to run out of ideas, which is depressing considering the amount of time and development these players have undertaken. The French refused to let them introduce a plan B.

Eddie O'Sullivan has never used the bench as a weapon and I don't expect any change.

There were positives.

Ireland scrummaged well for the opening three-quarters before that also followed the way of the lineout. This was more down to fatigue than anything else as the French were able to spring quality from the bench.

Eoin Reddan looked comfortable in this high-pressure Test arena. I expect him to hold the jumper. Simon Easterby is another who deserves particular praise in both attack and defence.

There is still a significant distance from Ireland's Six Nations form. But this was a step in the right direction.

The Argentina game is even more crucial, but seeking four tries, while denying Argentina a bonus point is a tremendously difficult ask.

Argentina should pick up a bonus against Georgia today and will then be well rested come the Parc des Princes encounter. They will be keenly aware that victory will ensure they avoid New Zealand in Cardiff.

France are now back as genuine tournament contenders, but neither they, nor the All Blacks, will be looking forward to a quarter-final meeting in Cardiff.

It's not a lost cause for Ireland. Not yet anyway.