TV VIEWNEXT TIME, it mightn't be a bad idea if the four lads wore mourning suits to an Ireland rugby match, because Messrs McGurk, Hook, Pope and O'Shea were akin to funeral directors as they dissected the death of Irish rugby under Eddie O'Sullivan after the loss to Wales at Croke Park on Saturday.

Not that Hook was at all surprised by what had unfolded before his eyes. The only thing that came as a surprise to George was the temerity of Ireland's coach, when interviewed by Tracy Piggott, to suggest he thought throughout the match that Ireland could "grind out a result".

Hook seemed apoplectic when the cameras cut back to the tiny studio overlooking a deserted Croker.

"Eddie's the only fella that could persuade you that General Custer ran the Sioux nation close at the Battle of Little Big Horn. It's true. He is trying to deny the reality of our eyes, for crying out loud."

In fairness to Hookie, he had been singing from the same hymn sheet in the build-up to the big match. While RTÉ's opening sequence included a montage of tabloid headlines recalling the bad old days of the World Cup and the opening Six Nations match - "Bunch of Namateurs", "It's pasta joke", etc - Hook, even if he had poor old Bill Shakespeare turning in his grave as he butchered the bard's eloquent prose to make his point, was very much of the opinion the glass was half-empty rather than half-full.

In describing the sideshow between O'Sullivan and Warren Gatland as "all horse manure, the greatest load of rubbish", Hook left the armchair and bar-stool viewers in little doubt as to what he thought of the so-called battle for the Triple Crown.

"This is the second-division championship that's going on here this afternoon. Neither of these teams would beat Australia, New Zealand, South Africa or indeed France . . . the 'triple crown' should be forgotten about. It's the championship of Europe and that's what we're playing for."

Still, when it came for Tom McGurk to get the predictions of his panel of experts, the edge was given to Ireland.

"I think we'll see Shane Horgan being very influential against Shane Williams, Ireland to win," said Conor O'Shea.

Brent Pope concurred: "I think Wales will struggle to score tries

. . . Ireland should win."

Unconvinced by the arguments of his fellow pundits, Hook was having none of it.

"As Shakespeare said, 'all that glisters is not gold'. I think we flatter to deceive . . . Wales to win, but only barely."

By half-time, you could sense a shift in the studio. And Hook wasn't shy in letting everyone know his feelings about the referee, Wayne Barnes.

"Ireland are spending the entire match offside, (and) he's doing nothing about it.

"There's only one team playing rugby out there and it's the fellas in red. We are playing a kicking, mauling, driving game . . . O'Gara has not passed the ball, (he has) kicked every single ball against the wind when common sense dictates normally you carry the ball against the wind. It tells you how negative Ireland are."

By the 63rd minute, when Hook was called in by match commentator Ryle Nugent to give his view, he was narkier than ever.

"This is a dreadful performance," he lamented, while O'Shea opined, "Wales are playing all the rugby in this match, they should be two, three scores up."

The mood in the studio later was one these poor rugby lovers have had to endure time and time again. You had to feel for Pope, the optimist of the bunch: "We'd just started to believe . . . (but they) seemed lethargic, devoid of ideas. They didn't seem to know what to do."

Of course, George wasn't at all surprised: "Ireland lost because they had a cowardly game plan. They made no attempt to win the match.

"This was an Irish team bereft of faith, this was an Irish team which did not play for its coach, it was a Welsh team that clearly did play for its coach. This is an Irish team without pride, without purpose."

"So, this leads us back towards coaching and management, does it?" wondered McGurk.

Bah, humbug. Hook was having none of it. "There isn't any management. Eddie doesn't do management. Eddie does control. There's only one guy in charge and he has to carry all the can because he doesn't delegate to anybody else. We cannot go on like this."

If Hook was exasperated before hearing O'Sullivan's post-match interview, he was even more so afterwards, ascribing Ireland's defeat to "fear, a paralysing fear - they were paralysed by the coach's fear of losing".

Over two hours later, and Hook was still singing from same hymn sheet. But, then, nothing that had happened in the match gave him any reason to change pages.

What started as a funeral march finished that way too.

Eddie's the only fella that could persuade you that General Custer ran the Sioux nation close at the Battle of Little Big Horn. It's true. He is trying to deny the reality of our eyes, for crying out loud