Perhaps Baldrick came up to the Irish management one day last week and said: "I have a plan, m'luds." And it went something like this: pick the players most likely to take umbrage over their exclusion from the World Cup squad (Munster) and the opposition most likely to exact revenge, and play the second-string Irish XV against them. Defeat will be ours and the odds on us reaching the semi-finals will lengthen.

A bonus would be that Friday night's defeat to Munster provided proof, were it needed, that Ireland's second-string XV haven't a chance of beating any Wallaby selection in Ireland's second Pool E game. Thus it copper-fastened the strategy whereby Ireland qualify in second place from their group and so earn a possible tilt at France in Dublin, rather than face Wales in Cardiff, as group winners, come the quarter-finals.

Then again, that might be too ingenious for Baldrick. Cue a contemptuous raise of the eyebrows from Rowan Atkinson/Blackadder. Of course, the Irish management could always take recourse in the theatre adage that a bad dress rehearsal makes for a good performance. After all, Ireland's 1991 World Cup team went down to Gloucester and very nearly went down to a Willie Anderson XV in the run-up to that tournament.

Famously, Ireland then came within a couple of minutes of beating Australia to reach the semi-finals. Viewed in that light, last Friday night's defeat to Munster was not a disaster. This might account for the surprisingly phlegmatic post-match reaction - in public at any rate - of the Irish management.

But they did look a bit shaken, and privately they must have been. And herein lies the main worry, what doubts will last Friday's set-back have generated within the players' minds? Friday's events in Musgrave Park will have been grist to the mill for those in Munster and beyond who believe that, say, John Hayes, Alan Quinlan, David Wallace and Ronan O'Gara (invited to attend this week's squad training in Belfast) are currently in better nick than their Irish counterparts of last Friday evening, and that Marcus Horan, Anthony Foley and Peter Stringer might be as well - even if in some cases it might be at the expense of fellow Munster men.

In some respects, that's irrelevant now. Besides, a player scorned (especially a Munster one) has a greater fury in him than a player who's already made the World Cup cut. Nor does one direct match-up provide a foolproof case.

Nevertheless, there was a comparative lack of aggression in last Friday's Irish pack which must have alarmed the management. After all, they had privately and publicly condemned similar failings from their Leinster contingent of forwards before the Musgrave Park showdown.

Munster were always going to do their damnedest to spoil Irish ruck ball, and privately Irish players had recognised this, yet a passive Irish pack relied on referee Alan Lewis to take remedial reaction. This he did when both Quinlan and Wallace could be seen lying on the wrong side of Irish ruck ball in the early exchanges, but gradually he too seemed to get caught up in the increasing fervour of the occasion. In any case, there should have come a time when the Irish forwards took responsibility upon themselves.

Ultimately, five tactical changes were made up front and, assuredly, the introduction of a more aggressive Keith Wood, Andy Ward and Dion O'Cuinneagain would have been made reluctantly - but desperate times called for desperate measures.

By then though, the die had been cast, and had Anthony Horgan held on to a Dominic Crotty pass to complete a stirring 60-metre, 15-man drive, then a scoreline of 33-19 would have more accurately reflected the 80 minutes. Ireland were that bad.

THE PERFORMANCES of the key decision-makers at eight, nine and 10 must also have disappointed the Irish management. Eric Miller looks like a player who is trying too hard to do something special every time he gets the ball. There may be a bit of that in Brian O'Meara also.

Eric Elwood is having a miserable losing run, at club and provincial level especially, this past year, and compared badly to the in-form O'Gara. But the thing about him is that when he's put into a first-choice Irish XV he rarely lets his country down and usually fits in well. He was even a steadying influence as a replacement against Argentina. Nor, outside of him, was there a get-outof-jail card in the absence of Brian O'Driscoll. Nor will there be when the wunderkind ain't there.

So where does all this leave Ireland's 1999 World Cup squad? Under the current regime, Ireland have probably expanded their pool of genuine Test players compared to the World Cup squads of '87, '91 and '95. But it's still nearer 20 than 30.

Furthermore, within that top tier, there are a few key individuals who Ireland need pretty much at all times, namely: Wood, O'Cuinneagain, Humphreys and O'Driscoll, to which one could now add Tom Tierney. Indeed, because of the lack of alternatives, one could probably add Peter Clohessy, Paul Wallace, Andy Ward and Conor O'Shea.

This isn't anything exceptionally new. Most coaches adhere to the need for a strong spine running through the team at numbers two, five, eight, nine, 9, 10, 13 and 15. Look what happened when Sean Fitzpatrick, Zinzan Brooke and Frank Bunce were taken out of the All Blacks equation - they went from the best side ever to bottom of the Tri-Nations pile.

All of which serves to show how little room for manoeuvre the Irish management have in juggling their resources next month, especially if it pans out that Ireland must negotiate five games in 23 days up to, and including, a possible quarterfinal at home to France.

Bearing that in mind, the alternative of winning the group and bypassing the play-offs, so reducing the workload to four games in 22 days, even though it culminates in a possible quarterfinal away to Wales, has it's attractions. The playoff/France route might mean Ireland have a better chance come the quarter-finals, but the Welsh route could see Ireland in better shape at that stage.

Furthermore, if Ireland are to generate popular support and a bit of a bandwagon effect, then putting it up to Australia in that second pool game on Sunday, October 10th, in front of their biggest audience of the group stages, seems the likeliest catalyst.

Juggle, juggle, toil and trouble. Decisions, decisions, decisions. Not mine thankfully. That's why the Three Wise Men are paid the big bucks.