Four inches of overnight rain meant the Irish squad had to get down and dirty for the first time on tour in this surfer's paradise on the Gold Coast, north of Brisbane yesterday. And they did so with an almost self-flagellant zeal in what was the most punishing session of the tour thus far.

There was much wrong with last Saturday's inexplicably submissive defeat, not least the midfield defence, but yesterday's two-and-a-half hour work-out at Southport School suggests the management's gravest reservations concerns the forwards.

In mitigation, several of the tight five particularly have either been injured or over-played lately, while the change in style from less of a structured one-ruck, kicking game to a more fluid running game has also asked different questions of the tight forwards.

In any event, yesterday's session began with an exhausting shuttle test, akin to a bleep test, whereby the forwards undertook unrelenting sprints over staggered distances. The effect was to have one noted Irish forward on his knees for about five minutes, while another had his head in a bin.

Moving straight from the main pitch to the dead goal area of one of the adjoining four pitches, the forwards then got their knees dirty in the most extensive scrummaging-session of the tour thus far - 10 sets of five scrums. While the ground was sodden, the warmer climes of Queensland also made this the hottest day of the tour. The perspiration probably added another inch of waterfall. Dion O'Cuinneagain - unable to train because of a haematoma - was one of eight people stationed on or against the scrummaging machine who cajoled and commanded during the sets.

At one point the machine was driven 15 yards infield, prompting a curt interruption from a boorish groundsman. After the eighth test, Keith Wood asked if they were knackered, or words to that effect, and concluded that if so now it was time to start working.

At the end of it all, you felt sorriest for Peter Clohessy, given Paul Wallace's shoulder strain prevented him from taking part (instead he undertook a solo and shirtless mini-marathon).

In the meantime, the backs went through a separate work-out designed to focus on organisation and communication in midfield defence. Even then, there was a lengthy cumulative team run putting four passages together followed by a longer distance sprint.

The previous night there had been an honest bout of naval contemplation. In all of this, the tacit message from the management, and now within the squad, is that this tour should not degenerate into a somewhat cliched Irish acceptance of a losing cause.

At a similar point on the Lions tour two years ago, Jim Telfer had invited the journalists along to a punishing scrummaging session which ultimately proved to be something of a seminal moment on that tour. The hope obviously is that this will be too. At the end of yesterday's session, both O'Cuinneagain and Ireland coach Warren Gatland stressed that there's no point in the squad going through the pain barrier if Saturday's opposition aren't going to hurt a bit as a result. The reason last week's practice was left on the training ground against New South Wales still remains something of a mystery.

The venue for yesterday's session, Southport School, was the host to a momentous moment in Ireland's 2-0 Test series win in Australia 20 years ago. It was here, on the sidelines of the very same tree-lined pitch, that Tony Ward, a current member of the Irish press corps, received the news from Noel Murphy that he was to be replaced by Ollie Campbell in the first Test.

If it's not the weather which highlights the many advantages Australia has over the touring Irish as a sporting nation ("I should have been born in a country with a climate like this," bemoaned David Humphreys), then it's the facilities.

Aside from its pitches, this private school also boasts both an Olympic-size swimming pool and a warm-up pool, as well as five all-weather tennis courts.

It wasn't all grim and grimmer for the squad, however. From Southport, the squad took the short journey to Sea World to avail of the multifarious entertainments on offer.